HOUSTON - A 20-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole, for murdering a 4-year-old girl during a robbery.
A five-day trial ended in a guilty verdict for Phillip Battles for the death of Ava Castillo. Ava was shot and killed during a robbery Battles committed with two other men, said the
The Harris County District Attorney's Office said the jury deliberated less than 20 minutes.
Ava, her mother Diana Gomez and two siblings, ages 6 and 10, had just came home from the grocery store when the three men ambushed them. The suspects tried to steal Gomez's purse as she was unloading groceries from her car.
Gomez was shot seven times during the robbery. Ava's sister was shot in the stomach. They both survived.
Ava was shot in the head and died at the hospital.
"The last memory I have of my daughter was her gasping for air, fighting for her life," Gomez said in court. "I'll never get the chance to watch her grow up and realize her dreams and aspirations."
The DA's office said the two deputies who tried to save Ava's life broke down in tears on the witness stand.
"Ava was a young girl who loved her family, loved school and was full of life, in stark contrast to the world of Battles and his crew," Attorney Shannon Drehner said. "These two worlds that never should have collided."
Battles codefendant, Marco Miller, still faces trial. Ferrell Dardar, also charged in the case, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
