Carjacking suspect accused of shooting father multiple times sentenced to 171 months in prison

HOUSTON – A 21-year-old Houston man was sentenced to 171 months in federal prison after shooting a father multiple times during an attempted carjacking in March 2016, according to authorities.

Adarrion Christie, who was 19 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty in May, and was sentenced to serve 51 months for the attempted carjacking and an additional 10 years for aiding and abetting the discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence. The sentences will be served consecutively.

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Christie will serve five years of supervised released following the prison term.

Christie was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to the victims in the case.

"You did what you wanted to do regardless of the consequences," U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes said.

Co-defendant Derek Harper, 22, also of Houston, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the discharging of a firearm. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 5, 2017.

On March 31, 2016, Christie and Harper attempted to commit a carjacking, according to authorities.

Armando Velasquez was with his fiancé, Sarah Harris, and their daughter returning home from a fast food restaurant when they were ambushed around 1 a.m.

Christie and Harper attempted to take the couple’s car with their 1-year-old daughter, Emma, sitting in the back seat.

“Armando dove into the car to get the keys, to fight for the keys with the guy who was inside and when he got out of the car, that’s when they just opened fire on him and hit him all six times," Harris said.

Velasquez was shot three times in the stomach, once in both legs, in the wrist and in the groin.
But Harris said Velasquez kept fighting to save his daughter.

“He didn’t even fall on the ground until they had run away. He was still charging at them with six bullet holes in him, after he had been shot six times,” Harris said.

Velasquez did drive the attackers off and saved his family, but the couple’s 20-year-old car is all but useless. Harris says it looks like a slaughterhouse.

“It’s covered in blood … soaked in blood … from the driver’s seat to the dashboard. It’s terrible,” Harris said.

Velasquez has undergone one surgery and is expected to need more to repair the damage done to his body, but Harris said he will recover.

According to court documents, authorities first encountered Christie during a traffic stop and found a .45 caliber gun in the car. It's suspected to be the same gun used to shoot Velasquez. It was said in court that Christie's friend, who was riding with him, ratted him out as the gunman who shot the man as he tried to protect his family.

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