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Texas plans to execute Kent Sprouse, 42, at 6 p.m. at its
death chamber in Huntsville. If the execution goes ahead, it
would be the 523rd in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court
reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the most of any state.
Sprouse entered a convenience store in Ferris, about 20 miles
south of Dallas, with a shotgun slung over his shoulder in
October 2002. After he left, the store clerk called police to
report a robbery, according to court documents.
Sprouse then went to the filling station in front of the store
and exchanged words with Pedro Moreno, 38, as he was pumping
gas. Sprouse fired one shot that went through a pump hose and
hit Moreno, killing him, according to court documents.
Sprouse waited in the parking lot until Ferris Police Officer
Harry Steinfeldt, 28, arrived on the scene. He shot the officer
twice. Steinfeldt, who later died from his injuries, returned
fire, hitting Sprouse.
More than 1,000 people from across Texas turned out for
Steinfeldt's funeral in Ferris, which then had a population of
about 2,200 people.
Sprouse had multiple drugs in his system at the time of the
incident, including amphetamines, according to medical evidence
presented at his trial.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Beech)
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