2020-03-12 Bi

Murder of Husin Bi

Husin Bi was shot in the head and killed at a gambling house in the Eastridge neighborhood of Amarillo, Texas, on March 12, 2020. The shooter, Lopphay Gum Pratommarath, 42, who ran the illegal slot-machine operation out of the house, was arrested eight days later, tried for murder in 2022, and convicted after a jury rejected his claim that he had been defending an acquaintance from Bi, who he said may have had a knife.

Background

Pratommarath ran a gambling establishment consisting of several illegal slot machines inside a house in the 900 block of Columbine Street in the Eastridge neighborhood. Benito Ruiz and his girlfriend, Evelyn Gonzales, were regular customers of the slot house and acquaintances of Pratommarath; the couple also sold illegal drugs out of their own home. Husin Bi bought drugs from Ruiz and Gonzales, or traded jewelry for drugs. About two weeks before the shooting, Gonzales came to believe Bi had stolen her wallet, along with $600 she had set aside to pay rent.

The confrontation

Unable to locate Bi after the alleged theft, Ruiz and Gonzales eventually spotted him at Pratommarath's slot house playing a machine. Ruiz confronted him, loudly demanding the return of the money and either removing his shirt or rolling up his sleeves as if preparing to fight. Witnesses, including Gonzales and another patron, Michelle Rodriguez, described Ruiz as the aggressor, "in charge" of the argument. Pratommarath then entered the room, told the women present to leave, and sat down next to Ruiz, who told him Bi had won money and had roughly $600 on him.

Testimony about whether Bi displayed a knife during the confrontation was inconsistent. Ruiz initially said he never saw a weapon, though he acknowledged having told police at the time that Bi had a knife; he later testified he saw Bi pull what he believed was a blade partway out of his pocket, but that Bi never brandished or pointed it at anyone. Gonzales testified that Ruiz told Bi to "put the knife away," at which point Pratommarath stood up, drew a handgun, pointed it at Bi, and repeated the demand; Bi responded that he "wasn't touching the knife." Gonzales said she never saw a knife herself and saw no stabbing, slashing, or cutting motion from Bi. A third witness, patron Kristopher Tomberlin, recalled Ruiz asking Bi if he had a knife, Bi denying it while fidgeting with his pocket, and Pratommarath declaring Bi would not be allowed to have a knife on the premises — at which point Pratommarath drew his gun. Tomberlin did not see a knife.

The shooting

According to Ruiz and Gonzales, once Pratommarath pointed the gun at Bi's face, Bi raised his hand and tried to push or swat the weapon away on three separate occasions; on the last attempt, his hand struck the gun near Pratommarath's trigger finger and it discharged, killing Bi. Both Ruiz and Gonzales testified Pratommarath appeared surprised and immediately said the shooting was an accident, and neither believed it was intentional. Tomberlin did not see Bi swat at the gun; he recalled only that the gun went off quickly after Pratommarath drew it, and he also believed the shooting was accidental. No knife was ever recovered from the scene.

Aftermath and discovery

After the shooting, Pratommarath dragged Bi's body into a hallway. That same afternoon, an official with Potter County Fire Rescue discovered Bi's body inside a burning vehicle north of Amarillo.

Separately, Amarillo police were tipped off on Thursday, March 12, 2020, to a possible homicide and traced the tip to a home near 900 Columbine Street in Eastridge. Officers found evidence of a violent crime both inside and outside the home, but no victim was present, and the APD Homicide Unit opened an investigation.

Investigation and arrests

Investigators connected Pratommarath to the killing through a source who identified him as the probable owner of the slot house. On Friday, March 20, 2020, the Amarillo Police Department's Proactive Criminal Enforcement Unit (PACE) arrested Benito Ruiz, 37, and Evelyn Gonzales, 34, on aggravated robbery warrants related to the homicide. The same day, APD, working with the U.S. Marshals Service and the New Mexico State Police, arrested Pratommarath, 42. All three were booked into the Potter County Jail. The APD Homicide Unit continued investigating the case afterward.

While later held in the Potter County Jail, Pratommarath shared a cell with Salvador Rodriguez for roughly three months. Rodriguez testified that after he told Pratommarath about his own shooting conviction being reversed on a self-defense claim, Pratommarath offered his own account: that a man had come to his house, an argument started, the man pulled a knife, and Pratommarath, scared, shot him.

Trial

Pratommarath was indicted for murder and tried before a jury in the 108th Judicial District Court of Potter County (Cause No. 81,969-E-CR), with Judge Douglas R. Woodburn presiding. At trial, held March 14-17, 2022, the jury convicted him of Bi's murder. They took 26 minutes of deliberation to sentence him to life in prison^[1]

Appeal

Pratommarath appealed his conviction to the Seventh Court of Appeals, raising a single issue: whether the trial court correctly charged the jury regarding his defensive theory that he was acting to defend Ruiz from Bi, who he claimed may have had a knife. In its response brief, the State of Texas — through 47th District Attorney Randall Sims — argued that Pratommarath failed to show the jury charge was erroneous and that, because he had not objected to the charge at trial, he could not show he suffered egregious harm even if it had been.

People involved

Timeline

Sources

• "Amarillo police receive homicide tip near Eastridge, asking for information," ABC7 Amarillo, by Jacob Helker
• "3 arrests made on aggravated robbery warrants connected to Eastridge homicide," ABC7 Amarillo, by Matthew Watkins
• State's Brief, Pratommarath v. State, Cause No. 81,969-E-CR, 108th District Court of Potter County, Court of Appeals for the Seventh Judicial District of Texas (filed by 47th District Attorney Randall Sims)