Thanksgiving on San Antonio’s East Side has now ended in a long prison stretch for the man convicted of turning a holiday gathering into a deadly crime scene. Michael Moore received two concurrent 50-year prison terms for murder, plus a separate 20-year sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The shooting happened at a home on the East Side in November 2024 and left two other people wounded.
The 175th District Court handed down the sentence Wednesday, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office confirmed in court, according to WOAI. Prosecutors told the court they pursued murder and aggravated assault counts, and said the prison terms will run at the same time.
What happened on Thanksgiving morning
Police say the violence broke out during a gathering at a house in the 600 block of Potomac Street near St. James Street on Thanksgiving morning 2024, when a man leaving the home opened fire, according to KSAT. KSAT and other local reporting later identified the two people killed as 27-year-old Devin Lavalais and 24-year-old La Vontay Drummer-Simms, and said two others were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus told reporters that “All the individuals involved in this incident knew each other, including the shooter,” per KSAT.
Charges and court timeline
Moore was originally booked on capital murder charges and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; Hoodline’s November report, which noted he was charged with capital murder, covered the arrest and early details. Moore later faced trial on counts that led to convictions for murder and aggravated assault and the multi-decade sentence imposed this week.
Authorities have not publicly released a motive for the shooting, and prosecutors did not immediately provide further details about what prompted the violence, according to WOAI. For families and neighbors still coping with the loss, the sentence closes one chapter while leaving many questions unanswered about what led to the deadly holiday gunfire.
