A Colorado man was sentenced to life in prison by a Texas judge Thursday for killing an acquaintance and fellow Iraqi refugee four years ago.<\/p>\n
A Houston jury convicted\u00a0Abbas Abdal Abed, 47, earlier this month in the 2019 stabbing death of 29-year-old Abdulrahman Haris, the Harris County (Texas) District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.<\/p>\n
Abed, an Uber driver in Colorado, fled to Houston in December 2019 after police believe he killed a 31-year-old woman at an extended-stay hotel in Sheridan. He was charged with first-degree murder and sexual assault. That case remains open.<\/p>\n
Both Abed and Haris came to the U.S. as refugees from Iraq, prosecutors said, settling in Houston.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 15, 2019, authorities say Haris gave Abed some money and was taking him to Walmart in southwest Houston. As they were driving, Abed stabbed Haris in the neck and took control of the vehicle, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
He was arrested two weeks later at a west Houston food pantry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want Abbas Abed walking the same streets as our families, our friends or our children ever again,\u201d Catherine Johnson, an assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, said in the statement. \u201cHe is scary as hell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abed must serve 30 years before he will be eligible for parole, the DA’s office said.<\/p>\n