HOUSTON — The family of 71-year-old Martha Medina finally got the news they'd been waiting for Thursday, nearly a year after she was killed.
Harris County deputies arrested Lawrence Earl Thomas, the third and final suspect in the deadly purse-snatching outside an east Houston McDonalds's last September.
Thomas was scheduled to appear in court Friday morning on a capital murder charge but the judge said he didn't bother to show up.
"Is it in your understanding that he chose not to attend this hearing?" the judge asked Thomas's attorney. "Yes, judge and I'm asking for a $75,000 bond."
The judge denied his request for bond.
Andrew Williams is also charged with capital murder in Medina's death. Felton Ford is charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. HCSO Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he was acting as the lookout during the robbery.
According to investigators, the three men followed Medina from a nearby bank to the fast-food restaurant on Uvalde and grabbed her purse in the parking lot. When they sped away, the suspects ran over Medina and dragged her to death, according to HCSO.
Williams was out on bond for a separate 2019 capital murder charge at the time, adding to the family's frustration and grief.
"We want a change. We want to hold judges accountable. We know who you are by first and last name. We are putting your name out there," Martha's daughter, Lourdes Medina, told us last year during a march for justice.
Thomas, who goes by the nickname "Dirty," also has a criminal record.