A Texas Army veteran who was convicted of murdering a Black man in a racially motivated shooting in 2021 was sentenced last week to 40 years in prison but avoided a life term from the judge, which could set him free after serving half the time.
Christopher Lee Powell, 36, of Killeen, was found guilty in the murder of 37-year-old San Antonio resident Ibrahim Malik Suarez, who was gunned down during an argument at a gas station in Converse, Texas, on April 9, 2021.
District Judge Frank J. Castro handed down the sentence on Feb. 7, requiring Powell to serve at least 20 years for the crime before he becomes eligible for parole.
Prosecutors said Powell killed Suarez in cold blood, after which he called 911 and told the dispatcher a “[N-word] threatened my life.”
“Christopher Powell rolled his window down and shot and killed a man who was walking away,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales said in a statement to the San Antonio Express-News. “The jury told us that Mr. Suarez died needlessly and provided justice for Ibrahim Suarez and his family.”