Texas white supremacist gang leader gets life in prison for girlfriend's brutal beating

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Right after being sentenced to life in prison, a known gang leader fired back at his victim during her impact statement in Montgomery County.

Tyler Clark, 31, was convicted by a jury of aggravated kidnapping and assault of a family member with a previous conviction on Wednesday.

The jury sentenced him to life in prison Thursday for the assault charge and 30 years in prison for the kidnapping charge.

Prosecutors Shanna Redwine and Brittany Hansford said Clark kidnapped his victim from Harris County, drove her to a park in Kingwood, and left her. During that time, Clark was abusing the victim.

The victim said she had injuries all over her body. Her face was beaten to the point that she was unrecognizable.

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Clark was on the run following the attack and ended up in a standoff with law enforcement.

About five months prior to the beginning of their relationship, Clark was released from prison, where he served time for a previous assault case involving another former girlfriend.

During the trial, prosecutors put four other women on the stand who said they were abused by Clark during their relationship with him.

"One of the things that the defense had argued was that putting him in prison for life was throwing him away," Hansford said. "My argument, what I was explaining to the jury, was it's not about throwing a person away. It's about protecting the community, because we have seen the amount of violence he has shown to all kinds of different people, people who are supposed to love him, that he loves. It's about the fact that we don't know how many more victims are in the future. It's about protecting them more than it is about throwing him away."

Defense attorneys told jurors during closing arguments that Clark could be rehabilitated and vowed to change his life.

Jurors asked two questions during their deliberations, which lasted about an hour and a half, before deciding on a sentence.

The victim in this case took the stand to give her victim impact statement and was interrupted by Clark. He refused to be quiet when told by the judge and said he had just been sentenced to life.

The victim said Clark's behavior should be an indicator to the jury that they made the correct decision.

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