HOUSTON — A man accused of shooting another driver to death after a fender bender in southwest Houston was previously exonerated in 2021 for a separate murder case.
Houston police said Lydell Elliott Grant, 46, fatally shot 33-year-old Edwin Arevalo several times after a minor car crash on Friday, April 7.
Investigators said surveillance video showed a man and woman getting into a white Lexus and running a stop sign on Hiram Clarke Road near Highway 90. A Toyota, which had the right of way, hit the Lexus in a minor accident.
In May 2021, Grant was exonerated in a separate murder case for which he was serving a life sentence after the Innocence Project of Texas got involved with his case.
According to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Grant was wrongfully accused in the 2010 stabbing death of Aaron Scheerhoorn outside a Montrose bar. Six eyewitnesses testified against Grant at trial and he was convicted in 2012.
DNA later cleared Grant and another man confessed to killing Scheerhoorn.
“The exoneration of innocent individuals is as important as the conviction of guilty ones,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said at the time. “The highest responsibility of a prosecutor is to see that justice is done.”
Grant was qualified to collect $80,000 in state compensation for every year of his wrongful imprisonment. He spent seven years in prison.
The Innocence Project of Texas gave KHOU 11 the following statement regarding the arrest:
"We are saddened by the news of this tragic event and our thoughts and sympathies go out to the victim’s family. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on the specifics of this incident.
"We stand behind Mr. Grant’s previous exoneration. DNA evidence and the confession of the real perpetrator of the crime proved Mr. Grant’s actual innocence. His 2012 conviction was proven wrongful, and he spent eight years in prison as a result.
"The important work of supporting innocent people wrongly convicted of crimes is an essential part of our collective work towards a better and more just society, and we remain committed to that goal."
Grant's bond has been set at $1 million.