(May 10, 2007)—A jury Tuesday in Belton convicted Matthew Harris, 22, of Harker Heights of capital murder in the June 2005 murder of Fort Hood Capt. Jason Gonzalez, a 4th Infantry Division helicopter pilot and commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment.

Jurors deliberated for less than hour before returning the guilty verdict.

Prosecutors weren’t seeking the death penalty, so Harris received an automatic life sentence.

Police said Gonzalez’s killers broke into his home with the intention of robbing him, but ended up killing the father of two instead.

Investigators tracked down the four after a forged check was passed.

Gonzalez was a 1998 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who had been assigned to Fort Hood since April.

He had just returned from an overseas deployment in February was scheduled to leave in November for another tour of duty in Iraq.

Three other men were convicted last July of capital murder and
also received automatic life prison terms.

They are 17-year-old Brandon Lee Hammock, 19-year-old Erik
Leonard Siperko and 25-year-old Russell Alligood, who's a former
Fort Hood soldier.

They're also from Harker Heights.

More Local And State News >>More National News >>More Business News >>Sports >> Weather >>