A Houston, Texas, man has been charged with murdering a convicted sex offender by posing as a minor to lure him.
According to court documents, authorities have charged 22-year-old James Lewis Spencer with murder after an incident that occurred on May 29, 2023, KHOU can reveal. report Friday.
Houston police said in an update Thursday. identified The victim was 37-year-old Sean Connery Showers.
image show Suspect in this case:
‘Atrocious cunning’: man shot dead for posing as a minor online to meet child predatorhttps://t.co/SNiqPFj9kQ
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) February 2, 2024
After Spencer’s arrest Wednesday, a Harris County judge set Spencer’s bail at $250,000. The KHOU report continues:
According to court records, Spencer told a witness that he knew how to track sex offenders using cell phone apps and that he wanted to rob or harm them. He then allegedly told the witness that if police did nothing, he would take matters into his own hands.
During a probable cause court hearing Thursday, the judge said cell phone records showed Spencer and the victim had been in contact. Court records say Spencer posed as a minor and discussed the victims’ sexual histories with them before agreeing to meet with them.
Police said someone reported an unresponsive man lying in a ditch in the 900 block of Northwood Street. The man, later identified as Showers, was pronounced dead after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
“Initial investigation revealed that Mr. Showers was walking in the roadway when a vehicle of unknown make and model approached him. Someone inside the vehicle then shot Showers. At that time, no suspects were identified. There was no known description,” authorities said. “Further investigation revealed Spencer to be the suspect in this incident.”
According to the KHOU article, the suspect’s bail conditions include 24-hour house arrest, wearing a GPS monitor and not having access to firearms, ammunition or weapons.
In March, a Minnesota man was charged with bludgeoning an elderly sex offender to death with a shovel and an elk antler, Breitbart News reported.
