What started as a simple meetup to buy a cellphone ended with a near-maximum prison term after a Tarrant County jury sentenced Elijah Royal to 99 years for the 2022 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Lamonte Watkins in Euless. Investigators say the shooting took place in the parking lot of an apartment complex where the sale had been arranged.
Jury verdict and sentence
In a post on X, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office said jurors found Royal guilty of murder and then assessed a 99-year sentence. Tarrant County DA officials publicly credited prosecutors Matt Hinojosa and Zachary Ashford, as well as investigator Bradley Gantt and victim coordinator Christina Rangel, for their work on the case.
Thanks to the Euless Police Department for their work on this case and for their commitment to keeping our community safe. pic.twitter.com/kXRH0VUpa6
— Tarrant County DA (@TarrantCountyDA) July 16, 2026
How the shooting unfolded
Officers were called to the 600 block of East Ash Lane in Euless on the evening of Feb. 10, 2022, where they found Watkins in a parking lot with a gunshot wound; he later died at a hospital in Grapevine, according to contemporary reports. Early coverage and police releases described a fast-moving investigation that led to Royal’s arrest within days of the shooting, detailing the scene and the initial steps in the probe, as reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News.
Arrest and evidence
Local task forces tracked down Royal after he fled the area, ultimately apprehending him following a regional search. Prosecutors told jurors that Royal shot Watkins once in the head and later hid the murder weapon in Dallas before it was recovered. Accounts of the capture describe cooperation between Euless detectives and neighboring agencies, with the arrest and ensuing investigation detailed in local coverage and by the DA’s office. See reporting from Inforney and the Tarrant County DA for more on how investigators closed in and what evidence they presented.
Sentence in context
Under Texas law, a first-degree felony is punishable by life in prison or a term between five and 99 years, so a 99-year sentence is the heaviest available for a noncapital murder conviction. FindLaw summarizes that statutory range; the term imposed means Royal faces the prospect of spending decades behind bars if the sentence is upheld on appeal.
What comes next
Court records will document any future motions or appeals Royal may file. For now, the DA’s office is publicly crediting local detectives and prosecutors for the outcome and noting that the punishment flows directly from the jury’s verdict. The social media announcement effectively closes the trial phase of the case, while leaving the standard appellate options available to the defendant.
