A Texas man will spend life in prison for the premeditated killing of a Forney resident who was shot dead in his driveway.
Deaundre Bernard Walker, 26, was convicted on Friday of murdering Gabriel Diosdado Arteaga outside the Summer Haven Mobile Home Park in February 2024.
Kaufman County Judge Shelton Gibbs handed down the life sentence after a three-day trial. The victim’s family delivered emotional testimony during the sentencing hearing.
“The reason that you are here is because of the choices that you made,” Judge Gibbs told Walker directly, Fox 4 KDFW reported. “You cannot move past this moment in life until you appreciate that you are the result of your own choices.”
Prosecutors called the shooting a “premeditated targeted attack.” Arteaga was leaving for work when Walker gunned him down.
Investigators confirmed the victim knew both Walker and co-defendant Mayra Lara. One suspect had been asked to leave Arteaga’s address about a week before the killing.
Police found 240 grams of narcotics when searching Walker’s residence after his arrest. Court evidence revealed Walker had previously served prison time in Florida for narcotics and firearm possession.
District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley emphasized the severity of the crime.
“Every act of violence leaves devastation in its wake,” Wiley stated, per Fox 4. “Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of this crime and reaffirms our commitment to holding offenders fully accountable for their choices.”
Lara faces separate murder and drug charges. Her trial was postponed and awaits rescheduling.
She remains in Kaufman County Jail on charges including murder, possession of a controlled substance, and bringing prohibited substances into a correctional facility. Lara has been held since February 7, 2024.
