Man sentenced to 25 years for 2019 road rage shooting of driver while out on bond, records show

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison following the fatal shooting of a man in a road rage incident that happened over four years ago, according to court records.

The video above is from a previous report on the W. Harris County road rage shooting.

Harris County court records show Deitrich Thomas was sentenced on Tuesday after he was charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting 29-year-old Eric Starr in west Harris County in June 2019.

According to records, Starr and Thomas were involved in a "traffic rage" on I-10 W. before exiting northbound at Morton Ranch at Mason Road.

That is when Starr got out of a silver Toyota Camry, and Thomas exited his 2019 black Dodge Charger, and the two got into a physical altercation, police said.

Records state Thomas pulled out a pistol during the fight and shot Starr in the chest before fleeing the scene.

Two witnesses stopped and helped Starr before EMS transported him to Hermann Hospital in Katy, where he was pronounced dead.

Documents said that four people were inside the suspect's car, and a passenger was believed to be inside the victim's vehicle at the time of the shooting.

Two months following the shooting, police identified Thomas, who was said to be out on bond for an unrelated shooting incident that was filed on Feb. 10, 2019, deputies said.

Thomas was booked into the Harris County Jail on July 4, 2019.