Inset: Ashley Jasmin Marmolejo (Johnson County Jail). Background: Sonic Drive-in in Keene, Texas (Google Maps).
A young woman, aged 20, is now facing over two decades in prison after instructing her 12-year-old nephew to shoot a Sonic employee following a confrontation over her brother urinating in the parking lot.
Ashley Jasmin Marmolejo admitted to murder charges and received a 25-year sentence in the Texas Department of Corrections for the 2023 killing of Matthew Davis, aged 32, who worked at Sonic, as reported by the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.
Marmolejo, along with her brother Angel Gomez, then 20, and the 12-year-old, were at a Sonic in Keene, roughly 40 miles southwest of Dallas, on May 13, 2023. Gomez decided to urinate in the lot and was confronted by Davis. Meanwhile, Marmolejo and the young boy observed from their car.
“The argument soon became physical,” police wrote.
Marmolejo handed the boy a firearm and instructed him to “go” shoot Davis. The boy complied, using an AR-style rifle to fire multiple shots at Davis. Law enforcement arrived on the scene and provided aid until Keene Fire Department medical personnel intervened. Davis was airlifted to Harris Methodist Hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Angel Gomez, seen on the right, relieved himself in the parking lot of Sonic Drive-In, as stated by officers. Sonic employee Matthew Davis, shown on the left, confronted him, resulting in a 12-year-old from Gomez’s car fatally shooting Davis, according to authorities. (Image of Davis: courtesy of GoFundMe campaign; mugshot of Gomez: Keene Police Department; screenshot: KXAS)
The 12-year-old, whose identity remains undisclosed, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 12 years of incarceration in 2023. Charges of murder initially filed against Gomez were subsequently dropped.
The state initially did not charge Marmolejo with murder but a new prosecutor was elected and he promised the family to put the case in front of a grand jury, local NBC affiliate KXAS reported. Marmolejo was indicted on a murder charge earlier this year.
Davis’ mother Leigh Miller was pleased by the outcome.
“This is justice that we’ve been waiting for,” Miller told KXAS. “Of course, with a death like this, you want them to be life in prison, but this is a good sentence for her, and we will continue to fight to keep her locked behind bars even when she comes up for parole.”
A GoFundMe campaign, started by coworkers of Davis’ mother, said Davis leaves behind a 10-year-old son. It has raised more than $29,000 of a $16,500 goal.
