Two Houston-area men were sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of a friend after they all got into a fight, authorities said Tuesday.
Leroy Lopez and Christopher Paz, both 19, were sentenced last week after admitting to the fatal April 4, 2021 shooting of 17-year-old Abraham Mata near Houston. All three were 17 years old at the time.
“This was a brutal and senseless murder carried out by two young men who will now spend decades behind bars,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “There are consequences for every action and in this case justice was served.”
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Christopher Paz and Leroy Lopez, both 19, killed their friend, Abraham Mata, in 2021 during a fight, prosecutors said.
(Harris County District Attorney’s Office)
The three teens were in a mobile home in the 400 block of East Wallisville Road when a fight broke out, authorities said. All were “highly intoxicated” at the time, Ogg’s office said.
At one point, López picked up Mata and threw him to the ground, knocking him unconscious. They then pulled Mata out of the trailer and shot him twice, prosecutors said.
Lopez and Paz then dragged Mata’s body into a wooded area behind a church where he was later stabbed multiple times, authorities said.
Both men were arrested the following day by police. Paz led the investigators to Mata’s body and told them what happened.
Abraham Mata, 17, was killed by two friends during a fight in April 2021 in which he was shot and then stabbed, Texas prosecutors said.
(Harris County District Attorney’s Office)
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López pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on November 28. Paz pleaded guilty in exchange for 25 years in prison two days later.
