Man who arranged fatal 2022 robbery at Camelot Inn sentenced to 30 years

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The second co-defendant in a fatal 2022 robbery at an Amarillo hotel pleaded guilty to murder this week.

Jeffrey Venta Jabre Walker is one of three men who are charged in the death of 24-year-old Brandon Slade Ward.

In November 2022, Ward accompanied a friend to the Camelot Inn near I-40 East and South Nelson Street to sell goods to two men.

The two men arrived in a pick-up truck and parked next to the car Ward was in.

The driver, identified as 25-year-old Marwahn Khalid Evans, exited the pick-up truck and began talking to Ward’s friend.

The truck’s passenger, identified as 23-year-old Braxton Leonard, exited the cab with a rifle and fired at the car, fatally injuring Ward.

Police later learned that Walker set up the meeting and knew that a robbery would take place.

All three men are from Louisiana.

Leonard and Evans were arrested and extradited to Potter County following an indictment for capital murder in March 2023.

Walker was not extradited until last August. At the time of his extradition, Walker was serving a 25-year murder sentence in a Louisiana correctional facility.

Last week, Walker appeared in 251st District Court to enter a plea of guilty to the lesser charge of murder.

Judge Ana Estevez accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Walker to 30 years in prison.