OAN’s Avril Elfie
3:35pm – Sunday, February 4, 2024
A Texas man has been charged with murder after allegedly luring a registered sex offender by pretending to be a minor and then fatally shooting him.
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Houston police allege that James Spencer III, 22, shot and killed sex offender Sean Connery Showers, 37, in May 2023.
Authorities said Showers approached the car in the early hours of May 29.th before the suspect shot him.
Police said Spencer confessed to the killing after being taken into custody during the ensuing investigation.
He also said Showers was found in a ditch with multiple gunshot wounds.
According to court documents, Spencer admitted to witnesses that he intended to rob or harm sex offenders and that he knew how to track sex offenders using an app on his cell phone. He then allegedly told the witness that if police did nothing, he would deal with it himself.
The judge said cell phone records showed Spencer and the victim were communicating during Thursday’s probable cause court hearing.
Spencer allegedly pretended to be a minor online in order to lure Showers, who he thought was a sex offender, with the guise of sex.
Showers entered a guilty plea in 2009 to a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, federal authorities said at the time. According to the newspaper, Showers was sentenced to 30 months in prison for failing to register as a sex offender, then sentenced to two years in prison in 2019.
Prosecutor Rehaman Merchant said Spencer arranged the meeting and knew Showers’ exact location on the night of the murder.
“Regardless of the likeability of the victim, we are a nation ruled by law,” Merchant said at a news conference. “In other words, no one can be judge, jury, or executioner based on their mood.”
Spencer will be placed under 24-hour house arrest, must be monitored by GPS, and must not have access to any weapons, ammunition or firearms.
His next court appearance is scheduled for February 5th.th.
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