HOUSTON — A Houston man is headed to prison for the rest of his life for a deadly shooting and robbery at a Bellaire pizzeria more than two years ago.
Kiara Elijahjuan Taylor, 29, was convicted of capital murder after a four-day trial this week in Harris County. A jury reached the guilty verdict and Taylor was automatically sentenced to life without parole.
Prosecutors say Taylor walked into the the Reginelli’s Pizzeria in Bellaire minutes before the restaurant closed, armed with a semi-automatic gun and demanding money from the cash register.
The victim, 19-year-old Peter Mielke, was unable to give Taylor the cash. Taylor shot him several times, according to Harris County prosecutors.
Taylor, who was a convicted felon at the time of the shooting, was prohibited from possessing or buying a gun. But prosecutors say his sister purchased a firearm for him the day before the deadly shooting.
Assistant District Attorney Chandler Raine says Taylor "showed absolutely no remorse for this crime."
"His blatant disregard for human life was evident to jurors,” Raine said in a news release.
Mielke’s mother, Dana Mielke, faced her son’s killer and the jury when she presented a victim impact statement to the court.
She said she will remember him as an energetic, kind, and big-hearted young man who will always be loved and missed by his family and friends.
