2016-02-29
Man sentenced to 30 years in club shooting
Posted: February 29, 2016 - 10:29pm
| Updated: February 29, 2016 - 10:58pm
By ROBERT STEIN
An Amarillo man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday after he pleaded guilty to a 2014 killing that took place outside of a downtown nightclub.
As part of a plea agreement, Tyrone Dawayne “K.R.” Black, 24, admitted to murdering Eric Ontario Smith Jr., 19.
Black shot Smith Jr. in the back of the head in the parking lot of Paradise Club, 714 N. Fillmore St., according to court documents.
The shooting took place in the early morning on Nov. 23, 2014.
After the killing, Black fled Amarillo and was apprehended July 13, 2015, in Bloomington, Minn.
Black was sentenced in 320th District Court by Judge Don Emerson.
Because the killing was a 3g offense, Black must serve at least half of his 30 year sentence before he is eligible for parole. 3g refers to a special category of crimes listed in the Texas Penal Code that have strict judgment requirements ascribed to them.
47th District Attorney Randall Sims said the case was somewhat odd because Black appeared to have inadvertently shot Smith Jr.
“We think he got him mixed up and just shot the wrong guy,” Sims said.
As a result Black was found guilty of intentionally shooting and killing Smith Jr. under a doctrine known as transferred intent, Sims said.