James Lewis Spencer III shot and killed Sean Connery Showers after luring him to a park, authorities said. (Mug shot: Houston Police Department)
A man shot and killed a victim, leaving his body in a ditch, after pretending to be a minor online and luring him into an encounter, according to authorities out of Houston, Texas.
James Lewis Spencer III, 22, was arrested Wednesday after officers spent months investigating the mysterious murder of Sean Connery Showers, 37, say local cops.
Officers said they responded the early morning of May 29, 2023, regarding a man unresponsive at 900 Northwood Street. Paramedics pronounced the man — Showers — dead. He had multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
“An initial investigation determined Showers was walking along the roadway when a vehicle of unknown make and model approached him,” they wrote. “Someone inside the vehicle then shot Showers. At that time, there was no known suspect description.”
Investigators continued the case — they now claim Spencer carried out the shooting.
They arrested him Wednesday without incident, and he admitted to his role in the crime, they claim.
Spencer had pretended to be a minor online, authorities said.
“[Spencer and Showers] were communicating using a social media app,” Rehman Merchant, the chief prosecutor for the 179th District Court, said at the probable cause hearing on Thursday, according to Houston outlet KTRK. “The communications were sexual in nature. The officers believe that they were meeting up at this park to engage in sexual activity.”
900 Northwood Street is right by Montie Beach Park.
“There are some communications on the phones or between the two about [Showers’] dealings or past interactions with children or underage individuals,” Merchant said.
The prosecutor called the murder a “planned execution,” and that Spencer returned home “like nothing happened.”
Cell phone evidence allegedly showed that the men had communicated, and records placed Spencer at the scene of the crime.
Authorities reportedly claim that Spencer had previously told someone that he knew how to track sex offenders using an app on his phone. He allegedly wanted to rob and hurt them, and he said that he would take matters into his own hands if cops did not, according to Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.
Federal records show that Showers was sentenced to 30 months in prison for a 2009 case of possession of child pornography. He was reportedly required to register as a sex offender for life.
In 2018, he arrested after entering Bellaire High School during operating hours without telling the administrative office, according to Houston Fox affiliate KRIV. Showers was sentenced to two years in prison.
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