Man gets 50 years for deadly shooting in parking lot of McAllen bar

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A McAllen man was sentenced to half a century behind bars in connection to a deadly shooting.

Terry Wayne Thompson, 45, was found guilty on charges of manslaughter, prohibited weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm, records show.

_{Terry Thompson (Hidalgo County Jail)}

Thompson was sentenced in connection to a 2022 shooting resulting in the death of Miguel Angel Trevino.

Background

On Nov. 27, 2022, police responded to a shooting at London's Tavern in McAllen. When they arrived, they found several men holding down Thompson in the parking lot, a news release from the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office stated.

After the investigation, it was determined that Thompson started an "altercation," with multiple people earlier in the night. After he was confronted by Trevino, he pulled out a 9mm pistol and shot him twice in the torso.

Thompson claimed he shot and killed Trevino in self-defense.

Thompson was indicted in July 2023 on a charge of murder. After a week of testimony, the jury found Thompson not guilty of murder, but instead guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

During the punishment phase of the trial, prosecutors showed evidence involving Thompson's prior criminal history, including a 2012 felony conviction of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The jury also heard that Thompson had stabbed another victim in the chest with a pocket knife.

After several hours of deliberating, the jury returned punishments of 50 years, 20 years and 10 years on the three counts, which will run concurrently.

Though manslaughter is a second-degree felony, which carries a punishment of 2-20 years, Thompson's prior conviction allowed for an increased punishment range, Hidalgo County DA Terry Palacios told ValleyCentral.

"It does enhance your punishment when you've been to prison before," Palacios said. "Even though they didn't find him guilty of murder, they found him guilty of manslaughter. He still was in the range of 5 to 99 years, because of his prior conviction where he served six years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon."