HOUSTON — A man the Harris County District Attorney's Office called a documented gang member will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury convicted him of capital murder in the killing of an 11-year-old boy and the boy's stepfather while he was already out on bond.
Desmond Hawkins, 23, shot and killed 11-year-old Dominic Sumicek and 41-year-old Menuell Solomon while the two were in their car outside Solomon's west Houston home on October 26, 2020.
“A little boy with his whole life ahead of him was murdered because of a cold-blooded ambush in broad daylight,” DA Kim Ogg said.
The DA's Office said Hawkins was out on bond for a separate capital murder case stemming back to 2016 when he was accused of shooting and killing a man he knew while robbing him. He was wearing a GPS-tracking ankle monitor at the time he killed Dominic and Solomon.
Around a week before the shooting, the DA's Office said Solomon told police that a man tried to shoot him while he was parking in his driveway. Then, on the day of the shooting, the ankle monitor showed Hawkins waited for at least three hours before Solomon got home.
“Based on what we saw in the evidence, we believe this was an orchestrated hit,” said Assistant DA Christopher Condon.
When Solomon backed into the driveway, Hawkins shot the child twice and his stepfather four times. The DA's Office said they both died instantly.
Officials said they still don't know why Hawkins targeted the man.
“The defendant laid in wait for three hours, during the light of day to execute a young boy and his stepfather,” Assistant DA Nancy Ta said. “Hawkins made a decision to end Dominic’s life before the boy could even turn 12, and now 12 citizens of Harris County have decided how Hawkins will spend the rest of his.”
