Texas executes man in killing of 3 during a home robbery, the state's fifth this year

A man has been put to death for the 2005 fatal shooting of three people during an attempted robbery at his neighbor's home in rural Texas, the state's fifth execution of the year.

LeJames Norman, 40, was sentenced to death in the 2005 fatal shootings of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, inside the home they shared in a small, rural town. Norman was put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

An attempted robbery turned deadly

Norman and Ker'Sean Ramey believed there was cocaine in the house in Edna, a small, rural city about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of Houston, and hoped to steal it, according to court records. But they never found any drugs and fatally shot three people in the home.

Lopez was shot four times, including three in the back of his head. Peacock was shot twice in the head. Roberts was shot five times to the chest, neck and head.

Norman was arrested about five months after the killings while trying to cross back into the U.S. from Mexico. He pleaded guilty to capital murder, leaving a jury to decide his punishment.

Ramey was also convicted in the shootings and sentenced to death. His execution is set for next week.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday voted against commuting Norman's sentence to a lesser penalty or recommending a 90-day reprieve of execution. After the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday denied a motion from Norman's attorneys for a stay of execution based on claims regarding actions by the prosecution, his attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision.

In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review Norman's appeal, raising questions about the competence of his trial attorneys.