Houston man sentenced to 30 years for killing 21-year-old during botched drug deal, officials say
Caleb McCarty, 21, was killed after being shot three times in the back during an argument in 2020, police say.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man faced his sentencing three years after shooting and killing a 21-year-old man during an argument in the Clear Lake area.
The video above shows SkyEye above the crime scene in 2020.
On Thursday, Kendrick Marquis Bluitt was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the death of 21-year-old Caleb McCarty.
On Sept. 30, 2020, police say McCarty was shot and killed during a botched drug deal at a gas station at 245 El Dorado Blvd.
Investigators said McCarty got into the back seat of a car, which Bluitt was sitting passenger, to buy marijuana.
McCarty allegedly opened his door and began to get out after an argument between him and Bluitt when he was shot three times in the back, investigators said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Feb. 8, Bluitt pleaded guilty to McCarty's death, a day before his trial, according to the district attorney's office.
"He was really loved, and (McCarty's family) said he had a smile that would light up a room," the family's attorney said. "This was an act of cowardice - a callous and cold-blooded murder that did not have to happen. It started with an argument over nothing."
