HOUSTON – A Houston man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after he shot and killed a Texas Southern University student back in 2018.
According to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, 24-year-old Shanden Powell was out on bond for robbing a shoe store the day he killed 23-year-old Elzima Hines.
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Powell pleaded guilty on Friday to murder in exchange for 45 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in exchange for 40 years in prison. Those sentences will run concurrently.
Authorities say Powell was on bond for after he reportedly robbed a Payless Shoe Store and ran away in 2018.
Witnesses said he walked in with both hands on a pistol with a laser sight and demanded money from the register from a clerk, who pushed an alarm button, according to a news release. Officers at the scene say they then stopped Powell as he ran from the store. When they asked why he was running, he said he was running to a nearby school. Since it was Sunday, officers took him into custody and, later arrested him for the robbery.
He was later released on bond.
Seven months later, authorities said he contacted Hines on Snapchat to arrange to buy marijuana. Police say during the exchange, Powell went into the apartment, shot Hines, took the marijuana and a PlayStation and left. Surveillance video showed him arriving and leaving with the gaming device.
“It is obvious that gun crime is out of control when a suspect who is free on bond for armed robbery can shoot someone while committing another armed robbery,” Ogg said. “In this case, the defendant killed someone while trying to steal marijuana and a video game console, and now he will spend decades in prison.”