An Odessa man who was arrested on a capital murder charge on his 17th birthday was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison. He is 18 years old, and his 20th birthday is two days after the sentencing. Akias Kwentae Clarrett pleaded guilty in Ector County District Court to the lesser included charge of murder in the June 2023 death of Gonzalo Diaz Jr., 16. Three charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon were dismissed.
According to authorities, detectives learned that a group had agreed to meet at the Carriage House Apartments on North Dixie Boulevard to conduct an unlawful firearm transaction. Surveillance video showed three people approaching a car with four people inside. Authorities said Clarrett and Kannin Shorter, who was 18 at the time, shot into the vehicle.
Clarrett and Jayven Landerth, who was 18 at the time, were arrested in July 2023. Shorter was arrested in September 2023. Authorities said Landerth is serving a life prison sentence in the case. Shorter is awaiting trial.