2 Texas teens sentenced for killing friend and dumping body behind church
12/02/2022 1:06 pm PST
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (TCD) -- Two 19-year-old men were recently sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing a friend during a fight in 2021.
According to a news release from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, in April 2021, Leroy Lopez and Christopher Paz, who were were 17 years old at the time, were with their friend Abraham Mata, 17, at a trailer house in the 400 block of East Wallisville Road. All three of the teens were allegedly "highly intoxicated" when a fight broke out.
The District Attorney’s Office said Lopez "slammed" Mata to the ground and knocked him unconscious. The suspects reportedly shot Mata and then carried their friend to the back of a wooded area behind a church and stabbed him several times.
On April 5, 2021, Paz and Lopez were detained after "acting suspiciously," according to the District Attorney’s Office. Paz reportedly led police to Mata’s body and recounted what had happened.
On Monday, Nov. 28, the District Attorney’s Office said Lopez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison by state District Judge Te’iva Bell. A couple days later, on Wednesday, Nov. 30, Paz followed suit in the guilty plea and was also sentenced to 25 years.
In a statement, Assistant Harris County District Attorney Catherine Johnson, a chief prosecutor who handled the cases, said, "Leroy Lopez and Christopher Paz were both convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison this week for the gruesome murder of Abraham Mata."
Johnson continued, "Our community is much safer with these two individuals in prison, and we are grateful to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office for apprehending them quickly following the murder."
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