A Texas man will spend two decades behind bars after a botched murder attempt.
Kendell Morris, 26, allegedly traveled from Houston to Arlington (approximately 256 miles) in an attempt to kill the mother of his child’s new boyfriend in an incident that took place in May 2020, according to Law and Crime.
Morris reportedly drove to a residence where he believed that the boyfriend lived. Prosecutors claim that Morris made the trip with the intent on killing the man.
According to court details reviewed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Morris never met the new boyfriend and the only physical description he had of him was that he was “a Black man with dreadlocks.”
“He thought he saw the boyfriend and opened fire, killing Robert Cooley III, 24, who was not the boyfriend,” wrote Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells in a news release.
The murder reportedly happened in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Morris was eventually arrested in Madisonville (160 miles south of Arlington) by a trooper. An AR-15 rifle was discovered inside of his car, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Morris was sentenced on Wednesday to 27 years in prison by a Tarrant County jury.
Per an online obituary, Cooley was an “exceptional” athlete, and musician with hopes of “becoming big in the music industry.” Prior to his death, he published music under the username Cooley03.
