Family distraught after Clyde Wortham, accused of killing Lonnie Jenkins and Billy Robinson, was sentenced to probation

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The family of one of the victims of a double murder is shocked by the sentence handed down to one of the defendants by a judge.

In July 2014, police said Lonnie Jenkins and Billy Robinson went to a home on Yoe Street in northeast Houston to buy 25 books. of marijuana in exchange for $10,000. Instead of marijuana, they were sold hamster hay.

According to court records, Jenkins was robbed at gunpoint and shot alongside Robinson at the home the same day.

A year and a half later, Clyde Wortham and Oliver Shepard were charged with capital murder in the case.

The case dragged on, and Jenkins' family said they were told Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic were partly to blame for the delays.

Court records show Shepard's case ended up being dropped last fall, citing insufficient evidence. He has not been charged again in that case.

Wortham reached a plea deal in May. In exchange for a guilty plea to aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, his capital murder charge was dismissed. His sentence was left to Judge Melissa Morris.

After two days of testimony from law enforcement, witnesses and family members, Morris gave him a 10-year suspended prison sentence.

Jenkins' sister, Shalaine, and mother, Toni, flew in from New York for the sentencing hearing.

Her sister said she has been upset and angry since the judge's decision.

“So you're telling me about a person who's there with a person committing a crime while someone's being murdered, and you only get probation?” Shalaine Jenkins asked. “I never understood that.”

The family has criticized several aspects of the handling of Morris' case. She is one of several judges who have presided over it since the charges were filed.

ABC13 asked Morris to comment on the sentencing decision, but was told she could not.

In a transcript of the May 31 sentencing date, she said: “I must say that it is an unfair expectation on the part of this court to punish murders based on robbery charges. »

“I have heard no evidence of Mr. Wortham’s involvement in the murder of Mr. Robinson and Mr. Jenkins,” the judge continued.

Legal analyst Steve Shellist reviewed the transcript and said, “It was clear that the judge knew she was about to make a very unpopular decision and that it was going to upset people, and she was just trying to make his best to justify his decision.

When asked whether the murders should have been considered in the sentencing decision on the aggravated robbery charge, Shellist responded: “It's a tricky question because he didn't plead for capital murder. The defense attorney would argue and say we should, “I'm not going to talk about that aspect.

Now, no one is charged with these murders.

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