A
42-year-old man was sentenced to 45 years in prison last week for
fatally shooting a man who was trying to break up a fight at a bar in
Houston’s Third Ward, Harris
County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.
“People
have arguments, they have disagreements, but pulling out a gun and
shooting someone destroys two families: the victim’s and the gunman’s,”
Ogg said. “The victim
in this case was trying to be the voice of reason, and it was because
he was trying to keep the peace that his voice was silenced forever.”
Ronald
McClelland was convicted of murder by a Harris County jury on Thursday
for killing 32-year-old Jo-Von Darnell Telfor, who was celebrating his
birthday at a club
on Oct. 18, 2020. After McClelland was found guilty, he agreed to a
45-year punishment. He will have to serve at least half of that sentence
before he is eligible for parole.
On
the night of the murder, McClelland got into a late-night argument with
several people at a nightclub in the 4700 block of Emancipation. The
initial confrontation
ended with the men walking away from each other, but the argument was
reignited later on the sidewalk outside the club. Telfor tried to
de-escalate the fight and got between a friend of McClelland’s and
another man.
As
Telfor worked to get the men to calm down, he stood between them with
his outstretched arms separating them, but he was not touching either of
them. At that point,
which was captured on surveillance video, McClelland pulled out a small
pistol and shot the innocent man in the chest. Telfor was taken to the
hospital, where he died the next day.
“It’s
just so senseless,” said Assistant District Attorney Shanice Newton, a
prosecutor who is part of the Major Offenders Division of the DA’s
Office. “It was Mr. Telfor’s
birthday and they were all celebrating. It should not have ended like
this.”
Newton
handled the case with ADA Nisha King-Hawkins and said Telfor left
behind four children and other family members who were all relieved that
McClelland was convicted
and sentenced to decades in prison.
“The
victim’s mom wanted to get closure, and she felt like she got it,”
Newton said. “An unarmed man was executed for no reason, and now his
four kids will never get
to see their father again.”
