A 21-year-old Texas man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for murdering a Black man in what prosecutors said was an act of racially-motivated violence, per KTRE.
Madison Meazell Simmons, who was 17 at the time of the fatal shooting, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder in connection with the 2020 death of Melvin Ray Rogers Jr. He accepted the plea deal during jury deliberations earlier this month, the Nacogdoches County District Attorney’s Office said.
The fatal shooting of Rogers unfolded on December 21, 2020, when police responded to reports of gunfire near his home. Officers found Rogers, 40, unresponsive in his garage after he was shot multiple times.
Prosecutors said the shooting stemmed from a racial dispute. Months before the murder, Simmons allegedly called Rogers a racial slur, prompting Rogers to slap him. Simmons reportedly held a grudge and later returned to Rogers’ home, firing 30 rounds into the residence.
“Madison still held a grudge,” the arrest affidavit stated.
Police were later searching Simmons’ home in connection with another case when they found the murder weapon. Simmons was arrested during a traffic stop in February 2021, three months after the shooting.
In a statement following the plea, Nacogdoches County District Attorney Andrew Jones praised the victim’s family for their strength and patience.
“We are so very grateful to the family of the victim in this case,” Jones said. “They have been beyond patient and understanding. Thanks to the Nacogdoches Police Department for their hard work on this investigation. It was a complicated case with a lot of digital evidence. And I know both sides are grateful to the jury for their service and for sitting and listening to the evidence.”
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