TEXAS (HCDAO) – A Houston man who was involved in a months-long crime spree that left five people dead in 2019 was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison after the families gave victim impact statements, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.
“We echo the families’ sentiments that this man has no respect for human life and is a danger to the community,” Ogg said. “We sincerely hope that he serves every single day of the 60-year prison sentence.”
Louis Malik Santee, 25, pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in exchange for three 60-year prison sentences on the eve of his capital murder trial that was expected to begin this week. Those sentences will run concurrently.
People from each family gave victim impact statements Friday in a packed courtroom.
In the first case, Santee pleaded guilty to engaging in organized criminal activity and received a sentence of 60 years in prison for his role in killing 19-year-old Ryan McGowan, who was shot in the backseat of a car in the 11300 block of Windfern on September 6, 2019.
Next, Santee was facing life without parole for a capital murder charge for killing two people in a single incident. He pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for a 60-year sentence. In that case, he followed Ramiro Reyes, 65, and his wife, Rosalva Reyes, 63, and killed them in front of their home in northwest Houston on September 25, 2019. The couple were leaving an area hospital late at night where Mrs. Reyes’ elderly mother had just died. Santee saw the purple Dodge Charger that the couple were in and mistook it for a rival gang member’s car. He followed them home and gunned them down as they exited their vehicle.
Finally, Santee pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for a 60-year sentence for his role in a deadly drive-by shooting at the filming of a music video on December 27, 2019. Videographer Gonzalo Andrew Gonzalez, 22, and Jonathan Jimenez, 20, were killed in the shooting, and seven other people were injured.
Assistant District Attorney Napoleon Stewart, a chief in the District Attorney’s Organized Crime Division, prosecuted the case with ADA Rachel Guffy.
“Louis Santee caused terror throughout 2019, so it is good that the victims’ families were able to get justice today,” Stewart said. “And we appreciate all of the hard work done by the FBI and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.”
He noted that under Texas law, a prison sentence of 60 years or more (including life in prison) means a defendant is eligible for parole after 30 years, regardless of the number of years defined in the sentence. So, a prison sentence of 60 years has the same effect, under the law, as life in prison.
Stewart also said that because Santee pleaded guilty, he cannot appeal his conviction or prison sentence.
News by Breaking911
