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San Antonio teen sentenced 45 years by jury in MLK Day celebration murder

OL Wallace convicted of 2021 murder of Johnnie Mobley

SAN ANTONIO – A jury spent all afternoon on Tuesday to come up with a 45-year sentence for a San Antonio teen who was responsible for a deadly shooting at a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration last year.

OL Wallace fired into a crowd at Santa’s Place on the East Side on Jan. 17, 2022, killing Johnnie Mobley, 61, and injuring four others.

After two days and more than 12 hours of deliberations, the jury came back with a guilty verdict on Monday.

During the punishment phase, the jury was shown new evidence that Wallace was an admitted member of the Crips gang.

Videos from his cellphone of him waving around the alleged murder weapon were also shown in court.

The state wrapped up its testimony with Mobley’s sister taking the stand and tearfully telling the jury how devastating his loss has been to the family.

“I don’t think it’s fair he died the way he did. It wasn’t his time,” Kathleen Samuel said.

In closing, defense attorney John Young asked the jury to give Wallace the minimum five-year sentence, while the state recommended a 50-year sentence.

Wallace will have to serve half of the 45 years he was given before he is eligible for parole.

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About the Authors
Erica Hernandez headshot

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.

Misael Gomez headshot

Misael started at KSAT-TV as a photojournalist in 1987.

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