Man on Parole for DART-train Murder Committed at 14 Gets 30 Years for Armed Robbery

A Dallas man on parole for killing a man by pushing him into a moving DART train has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a string of armed robberies in Old East Dallas and downtown.Cortney Woods, 20, will have to serve at least 15 years before becoming eligible for parole again after his conviction this week for aggravated robbery.Woods, then 18, was arrested along with two other teens — Royneco Harris and Kristian Rios — after the August 2016 robberies. In one instance, authorities said surveillance footage showed the three washing their faces with milk at a convenience store after a would-be victim pepper-sprayed them.Woods and Harris — who faces trial on the robbery charges in June — both were on parole for the Nov. 22, 2011 murder of 19-year-old Octavius Lanier. Lanier, who was on his way to receive treatment for diabetes, was surrounded by a group of boys that included Woods and Harris at DART's MLK Station in South Dallas. The boys, who wanted Lanier's iPod, were 12 to 14 years old.One boy pushed Lanier to the ground and others started kicking and beating him, security-camera footage of the attack showed.The boys eventually knocked Lanier into a light-rail train as it was leaving the station. He was dragged 30 feet, and his femoral artery was severed, as witnesses watched in horror. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.Four of the juveniles later later pleaded guilty to charges of murder and robbery in connection with the slaying.  Continue reading...