DALLAS — A Dallas County jury found Richard Acosta Jr. guilty of capital murder Friday after he drove his son to and from a Garland convenience store where police say the 14-year-old shot four teenagers, killing three of them.
Acosta will receive an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole because prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
Acosta, 34, drove his son, Abel Elias Acosta, to and from a Texaco station the night of Dec. 26, 2021, where police said the boy fatally shot three teenagers and wounded a fourth. The Dallas Morning News typically does not name juveniles suspected of a crime but is making an exception because Abel Acosta, now 15, remains at large and is believed to pose a threat to public safety.
