OAN’s Abril Elfi
3:35 PM – Sunday, February 4, 2024
A Texas man has been charged with murder after he allegedly posed as a minor to lure and fatally shoot a registered sex offender.
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The Houston Police department alleged that in May 2023, James Spencer III, 22, shot and killed sex offender Sean Connery Showers, 37.
Authorities claimed that Showers approached a car in the early hours of May 29th before the suspect shot him.
Police say Spencer confessed to the killing after they detained him during a follow-up investigation.
They also stated that Showers was found in a ditch, with multiple gunshot wounds.
Court documents said that Spencer admitted to a witness that he intended to rob and harm sex offenders and that he knew how to track them using an app on his phone. He allegedly told that witness later on that he would handle things himself if the police did nothing.
The judge said that cellphone records indicated that Spencer and the victim had communicated during Thursday’s probable cause court hearing.
Spencer allegedly pretended to be a minor online in an effort to entice Showers, whom he thought to be a sexual offender, under the pretense of having sex.
Showers entered a guilty plea in 2009 to charges of having child sex abuse materials, according to federal authorities at the time. Showers failed to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by two years in 2019, according to the outlet.
According to prosecutor Rehaman Merchant, Spencer arranged a meeting and was aware of Showers’ exact location the night of the murder.
“Regardless of the likability of the victim, we’re a nation of laws,” Merchant said at the press conference. “So no one gets to be judge, jury and executioner depending on how they feel.”
Spencer must remain under 24-hour house arrest, submit to GPS monitoring, and may not have access to any weapons, ammunition, or firearms.
His next court appearance is set for February 5th.
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