Easter crime 2015: Jamal Ferguson convicted of murder after shooting and killing a victim during a car theft

SPRING, Texas (KTRK)– A Houston man was sentenced to life in prison Monday after killing a man during a crime spree in northern Harris County in 2015, District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Tuesday.

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Jamal Ferguson, 27, was convicted of capital murder and automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole after a week-long trial.

Ferguson and another man, Eric Guzman, killed 28-year-old Michael Aldana when they were walking him on Easter Sunday, April 5.

Guzman pleaded guilty to the murder in 2015 and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

According to Ogg, Ferguson and Guzman began their crime spree around 7 p.m. on April 4 by robbing a caregiver in the parking lot of the nursing home where she worked.

According to reports, one of the suspects allegedly opened fire and hit the hood of her red Toyota as she reversed and got away.

Investigators said the duo then jumped a fence, robbed another woman and stole her blue Mazda.

Minutes later, they allegedly threatened another woman with a gun at a Target store and stole her purse, according to Ogg.

About six hours later, Ferguson and Guzman mugged a man sitting alone in his car at a McDonald’s restaurant off I-45 North.

Then, about half an hour later, they shot Aldana while robbing him as he sat alone in his car in a parking lot a few blocks away.

Authorities said before Aldana died he gave police a description of the gunmen.

A Houston police officer spotted the stolen blue Mazda around 2:55 a.m. and attempted to stop Ferguson and Guzman, who led police on a high-speed chase that ended in an accident.

Ferguson and Guzman escaped that night, but police found a gun in the stolen Mazda, along with personal items, such as cell phones, that belonged to each of their victims.

Investigators said the bullet that killed Aldana and the bullet that went into the Toyota’s hood came from the gun found in the Mazda.

According to Ogg, DNA analysis provided evidence that Guzman and Ferguson were in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Rogers, who prosecuted the case with Joshua Raygor, said Aldana’s family has waited seven years for justice and is content that Ferguson will spend the rest of his life in prison.

“They ran a reign of terror, targeting people who were alone, and when they didn’t get what they wanted, they started shooting,” said Rogers, who is part of the district attorney’s homicide squad. “They spent that night tormenting the citizens of Harris County.”