High School Dropout Who Shot Best Friend, 17, in Back and His Brother in Face Gets 40 Years for Murder

A judge in Texas sentenced a man to 40 years in prison for murdering his friend and shooting his own brother in the face.

A jury convicted James Sotelo, 21, of murder and deadly conduct back in November, at which time the defendant asked to be sentenced by a judge.

Sotelo was just 18 when the high school dropout invited 17-year-old Corey Thompson to spend the night at his home in March 2021, according to prosecutors.

For reasons that remain unclear, Sotelo opened fire on Thompson at around 3 a.m., shooting 13 rounds from a 9 mm handgun and killing his friend, according to prosecutors.

Investigators later determined that most of those bullets hit Thompson in the back as he attempted to flee.

A bullet also went through the wall and struck Sotelo’s brother in the face as he lay sleeping in another room, according to prosecutors.

"According to the defendant, he wasn’t intoxicated or under the influence of any drugs, which makes deliberately pulling the trigger 13 times that much worse," said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Kyle Tucker.

Sotelo was able to be released from jail ahead of trial when Criminal District Court Judge Josh Hill set the murder suspect's bond at $100,000.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said that Sotelo continued to break the law even after his arrest.

"There was absolutely no reason for this cold-blooded murder, so we know this man is a danger to the community. In fact, after he was freed on bond for murder, he continued his criminal ways and was rearrested for carrying a gun," Ogg said.

After being arrested for that offense, Sotelo was again released on bond. The cas was later dropped due to Sotelo's pending murder charge and an agrrement that he forfeit his weapon, accoridng to a motion filed in the case.

That second arrest is part of the reason why prosecutors had hoped for a harsher sentence in the case.

"We asked the judge for a sentence of at least 50 years because this defendant doesn’t care about what he did, he did not have any remorse for the victim and there weren’t any mitigating factors," Tucker said.

Instead, Sotelo will serve 40 years for murder and two years for deadly conduct with the sentences to run concurrent. Sotelo could be eligible for parole after serving half his sentence.

A lawyer for Sotelo did not respond to a request for comment. Sotelo is appealing his sentence.

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