A 24-year-old man stands accused of murder, allegedly targeting a registered sex offender in a planned execution, according to Houston police. The Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force apprehended James Lewis Spencer III without resistance.
The grim incident unfolded in the early hours of May 29, 2023, when a passerby discovered the lifeless body of 37-year-old Sean Connery Showers, prompting a 911 call. Surveillance footage from the area revealed a vehicle arriving around 3:50 a.m., halting briefly before unleashing a barrage of gunfire and hastily departing, as detailed in a search warrant.
Investigations revealed that Showers had been communicating with Spencer through a social media app with the intention of meeting at Montie Beach Park. Rehman Merchant, the chief prosecutor for the 179th District Court, disclosed, "The communications were sexual in nature. The officers believe that they were meeting up at this park to engage in sexual activity."
Merchant said that Spencer, impersonating someone underage, conversed with Showers via the Kik app. "There are some communications on the phones or between the two about (Showers') dealings or past interactions with children or underage individuals," he stated.
Showers, previously convicted of child pornography possession and failure to comply as a sex offender, was targeted by Spencer, allegedly due to his criminal history. Spencer's girlfriend confirmed his animosity towards pedophiles, indicating a predisposition towards vigilantism. Spencer's bail order documented his expressed frustrations with law enforcement's handling of pedophiles, hinting at a possible motive for the murder.
Phone records led investigators to Spencer, whose device was tracked to and from the crime scene. Despite being granted a bond of $250,000 and the possibility of house arrest, the district attorney's office seeks to detain Spencer without bond, citing his prior criminal activity and the calculated nature of the murder.
"This is a planned execution," Merchant asserted. "I think he targeted an individual, he set up a meet, knew where he was going to be, and then discharged a weapon multiple times and then just went back home like nothing happened."
"Look, regardless of the likability of the victim, we're a nation of laws," Merchant said. "No one gets to be judge, jury, and executioner depending on how they feel."
"(A) third party states (Spencer) told them he believed police were not doing enough to keep pedophiles incarcerated and (Spencer) wanted to rob and harm those type of men because they would do bad things to little children and other people and he knew how to track them by an app on the phone," Spencer's bail order reads. "A month later, defendant made the same comment that 'if the cops were not going to do anything, maybe he should kill them himself.'"
Spencer's phone was tracked to and from the murder location, and he admitted to being at the murder location "a few times," records say.
Investigators are working to retrieve records from his phone to determine if he is connected to any other cases.
As investigations continue, Spencer awaits his court appearance scheduled for February 5, with authorities endeavoring to ascertain any potential connections to other criminal activities.
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