RICHMOND, Texas (Covering Katy News) \u2014 A 49-year-old Houston man received a life sentence\u00a0for the 2021 murder of Michael Brown in a Houston neighborhood located within Fort Bend County.<\/p>\n
Antonio Derrell Jefferson was convicted by a Fort Bend County jury in the shooting death of Brown, whose body was discovered in May 2021 at a residence in the Quail Run neighborhood.<\/p>\n
AR-15 rifles identified as murder weapons<\/p>\n
According to lead prosecutor Madison Limbacher, Houston police found 27-year-old Michael Keith Brown deceased inside the home. Investigators recovered two AR-15 rifles from Jefferson that forensic ballistics analysis identified as the murder weapons.<\/p>\n
Surveillance video from the residence showed Brown entering the home with Jefferson but never leaving.<\/p>\n
Jail calls reveal motive<\/p>\n
After his arrest, Jefferson made incriminating phone calls from jail. He told a caller that he gave the victim a “good old fashioned ass whupping… outlaw way” and outlined his motive for the killing. Jefferson said, “Any[one] turn against me, [they] on a … road called highway to heaven.”<\/p>\n
Jury deliberates less than an hour<\/p>\n
During the punishment phase, prosecutors presented evidence of Jefferson’s criminal history, including past felony convictions and prison sentences for burglary, aggravated assault and drug and firearm possession.<\/p>\n
The jury took less than an hour to sentence Jefferson to life in prison.<\/p>\n
“The jury heard the defendant laughing about the murder of Michael Brown in his jail calls,” Limbacher said. “That callousness and his past earned him a life sentence. Our community is now safer for it.”<\/p>\n