Amarillo Teen Sentenced for 2022 Murder Committed as a Juvenile

A teenager pled guilty to causing the death of a 33-year-old man in 2022.

D'Dric Leevon Thomas was 15 years old when he shot Deandre Lamadris Graham twice in the chest at the Axiom Apartments on 1550 Bell St. on March 30, 2022.

According to court documents, Thomas had visited the victim's apartment several hours prior to the shooting. Thomas had been kicked out of his home and was looking for a place to stay the night. Shortly after leaving Graham's apartment, Thomas discovered that a handgun he carried in his backpack was missing.

He and two other juveniles returned to Graham's (who was no longer at the residence) apartment and located the handgun. Upset, Thomas damaged or disabled the surveillance cameras that Graham had set up and went to another apartment within the same complex.

Around 4:30 a.m., Graham made a series of phone calls stating he was upset that Thomas had tampered with his security system and that Thomas would need to fix it.

Graham arrived at the apartment and entered it, searching for Thomas.

Thomas had hidden in the bathtub with his handgun upon hearing Graham's knocks on the apartment door. As Graham entered the bathroom, Thomas fired the handgun.

It was later determined that Graham's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest. He was unarmed at the time of the shooting.

Upon shooting Graham, Thomas fled the scene. A city-we alert was issued before Thomas turned himself in to police two days later.

At the time of the shooting, Thomas was on juvenile probation for the offenses of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest in a motor vehicle. In total, court records state that Thomas had "been referred to juvenile probation for eleven alleged offenses in Potter County, including six felonies."

Two professional evaluations recommended that Thomas be certified to be tried as an adult for the death of Graham.

Following an accelerated appeal, the 7th Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in April 2023.

Thomas was indicted on a count of murder and another count of manslaughter. He appeared before Judge Steven Denny on September 25, 2024 and pled guilty to the charge of manslaughter in exchange for a sentence of 12 years in TDCJ.