New Boston, Texas: One of four defendants accused of conspiring to rob a couple of their marijuana last year was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday following a trial in Bowie County.
Eric Lamont Turner, 21, is the first defendant to face a jury. Co-defendants Asa Ryan Mannette, 23, and Katelin Marie Jordan, 20, have pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing March 26 before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Mannette and Jordan testified against Turner at his trial.
Charges remain pending against Dakota Dewayne Firth, 18. He is scheduled to appear before Tidwell for a pretrial hearing in April.
According to court records, Mannette contacted a woman via Facebook messenger and said he wanted to try some of her husband’s “weed and cush.”
Later that day, the woman and her husband drove to a house on Miller Street in New Boston to meet Mannette while in possession of an ounce of marijuana and seven grams of high quality marijuana. Mannette and Jordan walked out to the couple’s car and Jordan said she would be more comfortable just dealing with the woman.
The woman and Jordan walked to the back of the house and Jordan asked to smell the marijuana. As Jordan was kneeling down while holding the marijuana, Turner jumped out of some bushes. Firth was allegedly hiding in the bushes as well.
Turner pointed a gun at the woman and instructed her to stay quiet as Jordan ran off with the marijuana. The woman screamed for her husband and Turner fired a shot at the ground near her feet, threatens to kill the woman and fires again at the ground before running away.
While the wife ran to a house nearby for help, the husband chased after Jordan and Firth. When the man caught hold of Jordan, Turner came up behind him and fired at his feet. The husband saw the four co-defendants meet up and leave the area together.
All of the prosecutions are being managed by First Assistant District Attorney Michael Shepherd and Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter. Texarkana attorney Josh Potter represented Turner at trial.
