A Cypress-area man has been handed a 40-year prison term following the killing of a former high school friend, as Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced on Friday. The man identified as James Michael Sotelo, 21, was sentenced for the fatal shooting of Corey Thompson during an overnight stay at the Sotelo family residence on March 20, 2021, as detailed in a statement from the district attorney's office.
Ogg characterized the murder as a senseless act of violence, stating, "There was absolutely no reason for this cold-blooded murder, so we know this man is a danger to the community," and revealing that Sotelo's criminal behavior persisted even after being released on bond, when he was rearrested for firearm possession. When deputies arrived at the scene in those early morning hours, they found Thompson with multiple gunshot wounds, after Sotelo discharged his weapon at least 13 times, investigators also found that a stray bullet had injured Sotelo's brother in the face, though he survived the ordeal.
The legal proceedings culminated in a six-day trial held in November, where Assistant District Attorney Kyle Tucker prosecuted the case resulting in a jury convicting Sotelo. Opting for a judge to determine his sentence after a pre-sentence investigation, Sotelo was given a concurrent sentence of 40 years for murder and two years for deadly conduct during a hearing eight months post-conviction. Tucker, expressing dismay at the lack of remorse from the defendant, said, "According to the defendant, he wasn’t intoxicated or under the influence of any drugs, which makes deliberately pulling the trigger 13 times that much worse," and "We asked the judge for a sentence of at least 50 years because this defendant doesn’t care about what he did, he did not have any remorse for the victim and there weren’t any mitigating factors."
Under the terms of the sentencing, Sotelo is required to serve at least half of his 40-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole, which underscore the severity of his crime and the consequences that have been imposed Sotelo was an 18-year-old high school dropout at the time of the murder, while his victim was just 17.
