A Texas man has been handed down a 70 year prison sentence for the shooting death of a tanker truck driver outside of a Fort Worth gas station in 2015.
On Monday, a Tarrant County judge issued the 70 year sentence to 25 year old Lendon Lee Adams for the homicide of 29 year old truck driver Jonathan Luevano. Adams must serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole.
FWPD Detective E. Pate: “The only thing Jonathan Luevano did wrong was be a hard worker” https://t.co/ALZEvPfikj pic.twitter.com/aVWZZ4084w
— Deanna Boyd (@deannaboyd) October 31, 2017
Gas Tanker Truck Driver Gunned Down While Doing Paperwork
The fatal shooting took place on May 7, 2015 around 1:30 a.m at a Quik Trip gas station. After having delivered a load of gasoline, Luevano was sitting in the passenger seat of his truck filling out paperwork while Adams circled the gas pumps in a 2009 white Ford Mustang. Adams reportedly drove the car towards the truck and fired multiple gunshots at Luevano before he sped away.
Police did not respond to the scene until around 4 a.m. when an 911 caller reported the unresponsive truck driver.
Adams was spotted by police and arrested soon after the shooting. Investigators were able to use ballistics testing to prove that the bullet that had hit Luevano in the neck came from the Glock that officers discovered in the truck of the Mustang.
Adams was charged with homicide but denied having any part in the shooting. His defense team asserted that he suffered from mental illness.
A Tarrant County jury needed only half an hour’s deliberation to return a guilty verdict on the homicide charge.
No Known Motive For Fatal Shooting Of Truck Driver
Investigators were never able to uncover a motive for the shooting. Adams did not know Luevano. Shortly before the shooting, Adams had attempted to purchase alcohol from the gas station, but was told by the clerk that it was too late for alcohol sales.
The lead investigator in the case, Detective E. Pate, stated that he was satisfied with the sentence and that the only thing Luevano had done wrong was being a hard worker.
Luevano had worked for Groendyke Transport for about a year before he was killed.
Groendyke Transport keeps alive the giving spirit of one of its own – driver Jonathan Luevano. #Groendyke. https://t.co/UVKKc4A6UQ
— Groendyke Transport (@GroendykeJobs) February 2, 2016