Killer Gets 65 Years for Meth-fueled Murder in Trailer Behind Dallas Home

A 37-year-old Dallas man has been sentenced to 65 years in prison for the drug-fueled murder of a fellow methamphetamine user.James Hightower was convicted in the murder of 27-year-old Joshua Harewood in March 2016. Hightower, 37, was first tried on the murder charge in December, but the jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. He went to trial a second time this week, and a different Dallas County jury convicted and sentenced him.On March 23 of last year, Harewood and Hightower smoked marijuana and methamphetamine in a trailer behind a home in the 2700 block of Lewiston Avenue. The men had just met, because Harewood gave a ride to a woman who sometimes lived with Hightower. Colleen Harewood said her son struggled with drug addiction. He started using drugs when he was 17, but there were stretches of time when he was clean. Before her son's killing, she suspected he had relapsed because he had been distant, she testified.   Continue reading...