21-year-old gets life sentence for 2017 New Year's Day murder of teen outside Cypress movie theater
It was New Year's Day 2017 when Daniel Gerding and Colyn Timmons were both shot outside the Cypress movie theater.
CYPRESS, Texas (KTRK) -- A 21-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for a New Year's Day murder at Studio Movie Grill in Cypress.
Christopher Rodriguez was convicted of capital murder last Friday.
It was back in 2017 when a then-16-year-old Rodriguez lured two 18-year-olds to a phony drug deal at the Studio Movie Grill in the 8500 block of State Highway 6 and shot them, killing one.
Rodriguez allegedly asked his accomplice, then-17-year-old Faith Deleon, to call one of her "plugs," or drug dealer connections, to set up a robbery because he needed some clothes.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Armed suspect kills teen outside Studio Movie Grill in NW Harris Co.
When the two 18-year-olds arrived, Rodriguez got into their vehicle, and after one of them handed him a gram of marijuana, Rodriguez pulled out a gun.
Rodriguez shot Daniel Gerding twice in the back and Colyn Timmons once in the face before fleeing the scene in their pickup truck.
Gerding died from his injuries.
"This man made a cold-blooded plan to lie, rob and kill and then carried it out," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "A Harris County jury agreed that it was capital murder, and justice mandates that he spend the rest of his life in prison."
Rodriguez was initially charged as a juvenile since he was 16 at the time of the shooting, but he was later certified to be tried as an adult. He'll be eligible for parole in 40 years.
Deleon pleaded guilty in the case and is expected to be sentenced next month.
In a 2017 interview, she told ABC13 that she ran for her life when Rodriguez fired his gun that night. She said he then turned the gun on her and threatened to kill her.
