Yahoo Autos Suspect gets 50 years in prison for 2020 murder in Wichita Falls
A second man will go to prison for the murder of Wichitan Jason Baum.
Dimonique McKinney pleaded guilty to murder in 78th District Court Friday. Judge Meredith Kennedy sentenced him to 50 years in prison.
McKinney was one of four men originally charged in connection with the shooting of Baum in an alley in the 4600 block of Meadow Lake Drive on June 11, 2020. Police affidavits alleged the four went to the location to rob Baum under the pretense of buying marijuana.
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McKinney was accused of being the triggerman. He was originally charged with capital murder, but Chief Felony Prosecutor Dobie Kosub said negotiations led to the plea of straight murder.
McKinney could become eligible for parole during his sentence, Kosub said. He is credited with nearly three years for the time he has spent in the Wichita County Jail since he was arrested for Baum’s murder.
Andria Held, Baum’s mother, made a tearful statement after McKinney was sentenced.
“Words cannot convey the pain and anguish you have caused me and my family,” she said.
She said Baum’s children had their father taken cruelly from them and their lives are now spent at his grave yelling “I love you to the clouds.”
“I hope you enjoy your time in prison,” Held told McKinney.
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Martez Vrana, a former star football player at Hirschi High School, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in June 2022 on a capital murder charge for his role in the killing. Kosub argued at his trial that Vrana was the ringleader of the crew that committed the murder.
Sammy Worthy IV still awaits trial for his alleged involvement in the murder.
A fourth person initially charged was a juvenile and will not face prosecution.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Suspect gets 50 years in prison for 2020 murder in Wichita Falls
