Waco drug dealer sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatal shooting in 2021

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A Waco drug dealer who shot and killed a man who confronted him outside a South Waco supermarket three years ago was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday.

Jurors in Waco's 19th District Court deliberated for about 45 minutes Thursday before deciding the sentence for Jeremiah Darnel Walker, a former welder who began dealing drugs after losing his job during the pandemic.

A jury of eight men and four women convicted Walker on Wednesday of murdering Dusty Bethke Jr., a 39-year-old father of eight.

Walker testified Wednesday that he acted in self-defense after an irate Bethke aggressively attacked him in the parking lot of the former Johnny's Food Mart on Richter Avenue. He must spend at least 7 1/2 years in prison before he can apply for parole.

Bethke's mother and sister gave victim impact statements after the jury announced its verdict. His sister said she was praying for him and hoped he would turn his life around for the good of his family, and told him she had forgiven him.

Walker's attorney Phil Martinez said afterward that Walker wished he had handled the situation differently and was sorry for taking Bethke's life.

Walker testified that he fired two warning shots to ward off Bethke's advances, but Bethke continued to approach him and threatened to shoot Walker, whom he did not know.

“My client is relieved that it wasn't 45 or 50 years like he thought it was going to be,” Martinez said. “When he heard it was 15 years, he was pleased. He always told me that this was a tragic event. Both families lose something. The Bethkes lose a father and a brother. The Walker family will lose their father for a number of years, depending on what happens with parole. So nobody wins in this situation.

“But I think the jury returned a just and fair verdict. I think 15 years was very appropriate. Based on the evidence they heard, I still believe he was defending himself and that Mr. Bethke's actions led to this situation, and I think the jury saw that.”

While Martinez asked the jury for a sentence at the lower end of the sentencing scale in his closing arguments, prosecutors Will Hix and Chris Spendlove said Walker deserved a sentence at the higher end of the scale. Walker faces between five and 99 years in prison, possibly life.

“Jeremiah Walker took his life in broad daylight in the heart of Waco,” Hix said. “The attentive jury who heard the evidence this week followed through on their promise to uphold the rule of law in McLennan County. We hope Mr. Walker will prove himself worthy of the forgiveness offered to him today by the victim's family during their testimony.”

Judge Thomas West of the 19th District Court in Waco advised jurors that defendants who illegally carry a gun while committing a crime – such as Walker's drug sales – do not have the legal right to claim self-defense if they kill someone in the incident.

Two drug addicts who met Walker in the parking lot that afternoon to buy heroin from him both testified in court that they noticed Bethke acting strangely. He was talking to himself and daring Walker to shoot, both Michael Harrison and Haylee Halbert testified. Walker, Harrison and Halbert all testified that Bethke did not display a weapon during the altercation.

Walker described Bethke as “very unpredictable and agitated.” He asked Bethke if they knew each other and if they had a problem. He said Bethke came up to him, ripped his shirt off and said, “You're damn right. We don't know each other, but we could have a gunfight right now.”

Bethke then returned to his car and parked it behind Walker and Halbert's vehicles, effectively blocking Walker, Walker said. He said Bethke got out and “charged toward my vehicle with an agitated gait.”

Walker got out of his car with his 9mm pistol next to him.

“I used it as a deterrent, but I didn't know if he had a gun or not,” Walker said.

He said he asked Bethke why he blocked their cars. Bethke replied, “Nobody cares about the gun. I'm taking it from you,” Walker told the jury.

Bethke came closer and Walker said he fired two warning shots into the ground. Bethke continued to advance on him, he said, and he moved out of the way and fired one shot into his stomach, Walker said.

Bethke returned to his car and drove away. Waco police found his Ford Mustang crashed into a fence less than a half mile away at 3100 Street at Daughtrey Avenue. Bethke was dead in the front seat, officers testified.

Martinez questioned why he drove away from the scene of the accident and did not report the incident to police if he acted in self-defense.

“I was scared. I was nervous and didn't believe my word would be enough for the police officers who would arrive at the scene,” Walker said. “I was in shock and my first instinct was to run.”

A Dallas medical examiner testified that Bethke was shot in the lower back, with the bullet exiting his abdomen. Walker insisted he shot Bethke in the abdomen at close range.

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