A man who intended to kill his former girlfriend’s new boyfriend but instead fatally shot someone else by mistake will serve decades behind bars for the crime, Fox 4 reports.
This week, Kendell Morris was sentenced to 27 years in prison for the murder of Robert Cooley III.
Authorities alleged that on May 4, 2020, Morris drove about 250 miles from Houston to Arlington intending to shoot a man dating his ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child.
Instead, Morris, 26, shot the 24-year-old Cooley by mistake after spotting him in an apartment complex. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and found Cooley lying on the ground of the apartment’s parking lot, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Morris reportedly only knew that the woman’s new boyfriend was black and had dreadlocks, according to the newspaper, citing an arrest-warrant affidavit. The two had allegedly gotten into an argument on the phone at one point.
Another man had reportedly accompanied Morris on the trip. By the time first responders arrived, the two had fled in a 2008 Nissan Altima and authorities were notified to be on the lookout for the vehicle.
Hours later, a state trooper spotted the vehicle in Madisonville, about 100 miles north of Houston, and attempted to perform a traffic stop. Morris did not stop initially but eventually pulled over. An AR-15 rifle was located inside the car.
Morris allegedly admitted to investigators that he was at the Arlington apartment complex, but he claimed he did not kill anyone, the newspaper reports.
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[Feature Photo: Kendell Morris/Madison County Sheriff’s Office]
