HOUSTON – A Houston man who was exonerated of murder after serving seven years in prison was charged with another homicide in connection to a new case that stemmed from a traffic encounter last week, according to the Houston Police Department.
Law enforcement authorities said Lydell Grant, 46, is accused of fatally shooting another motorist, identified Edwin Arevalo, 33, after a minor crash just before midnight last Thursday. Police said Grant exited his vehicle following the fender bender, shot Arevalo, and then fled the scene, Click 2 Houston reported.
Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Grant and took him into custody on Friday, police said. He remained jailed through the weekend and his bond is set at $1 million, according to Fox News Digital.
Grant was convicted in 2012 of fatally stabbing Aaron Scheerhoorn, 28, outside a Houston bar two years earlier.
During court proceedings, six witnesses to the stabbing testified against Grant, and he ultimately pleaded guilty to the homicide for reasons that were unclear.
After serving seven years of his life sentence, Grant was released on bond in 2019 when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals heard arguments concerning a new analysis of DNA found on the victim’s fingernails. Upon release from prison, Grant said he always insisted he was innocent.
The new evidence confirmed his innocence and he was completely exonerated in May 2021, Fox reported.
The actual murder suspect in Scheerhoorn’s death was identified as 41-year-old Jermarico Carter. He was tracked down in Atlanta, where he was in custody for unrelated charges. He reportedly confessed to the murder and pleaded guilty in 2022.