2022-10-29 Deng
Murder of Lawrence Hart
Overview
Lawrence Hart, 19, was fatally shot on the evening of Saturday, October 29, 2022, during a shooting at a home in the 1900 block of Northwest 18th Avenue in north Amarillo. The home, described at trial as a "drug house" or "trap house," was where Hart sold marijuana. Two other people at the scene — a man and a woman — were also shot and hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Bol Marko Deng, 23, was identified as the suspect and arrested with the assistance of SWAT the following day.
Deng was indicted in January 2023 on a charge of murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, along with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In August 2025 the 47th District Attorney's Office upgraded the murder charge to capital murder, alleging that Deng intentionally caused Hart's death by shooting him while trying to rob him. In November 2025, a Potter County jury found Deng guilty of capital murder after approximately 14 minutes of deliberation; the trial court imposed the automatic sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Deng appealed, seeking to have the conviction reformed to simple murder.
The shooting
On Saturday, October 29, 2022, at approximately 10:28 p.m., Amarillo police officers were sent to a home in the 1900 block of NW 18th Avenue (near the intersection of Northwest 18th and Bonham) on a report of multiple gunshot victims. Upon arrival, officers found two male victims inside the home and a female victim in the backyard. First responders transported the woman and one of the men to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. The second male, Lawrence Hart (born June 25, 2003), was declared deceased at the scene. The Justice of the Peace and the APD Homicide Unit responded, along with Crime Scene Investigators.
Trial evidence of the events
According to the evidence presented at trial and recounted in Deng's appellate brief, the shooting arose out of a marijuana transaction at the house, where Hart was a drug dealer. An eyewitness testified that Hart "was on his phone, trying to... make plays or sell weed," and that Deng had bought marijuana at the same house earlier in the day.
At the time of the murder, the eyewitness heard Deng ask Hart "for a quarter-pound of weed," but Hart refused to sell at the price Deng offered. The eyewitness then heard whispering, after which Deng screamed "Aye" — which the witness explained was a way of calling others' attention — put his gun to Hart's head, and "right after that" fired a shot, killing him at the house's front door.
After the fatal shot, the sequence continued:
- The eyewitness who had been near the front door "took off down the tiny hallway to a bedroom," where Deng shot him through the mouth. While lying on the floor, the witness called 911 and told the operator, "Somebody shot my friend. He's dead."
- A second eyewitness — the woman who fled to the backyard — testified she heard only the shot that killed Hart, then fled out the back door. Deng followed her there and into the backyard, shooting her several times; she was found some distance from the back door, and a shell casing was found "within a few feet of her."
- Deng then returned to the living room near the front door, where he took Hart's property — including a gun and a backpack — and left the scene.
Police later found $3,499 in cash in the left front pocket of Hart's red athletic pants. The money was not taken. Deng's appellate brief argues that this refutes any intent to rob Hart, characterizing the taking of the gun and backpack as an afterthought rather than a robbery. The appellate brief also references a third surviving shooting victim shot "after leaving the scene," beyond the two victims found at the home in initial reporting.
Victims
| Victim | Status |
|---|---|
| Lawrence Hart, 19 | Pronounced dead at the scene |
| Male victim (shot in hallway) | Transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries |
| Female victim (shot in backyard) | Transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries |
Arrest of Bol Deng
During the investigation, homicide detectives identified a suspect and obtained a murder warrant. SWAT was brought in to help locate him, and Bol Deng (born August 4, 1999) was taken into custody and booked into the Potter County Detention Center the day after the shooting.
Charges and legal proceedings
A Potter County grand jury indicted Deng in January 2023 on a charge of murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Two additional charges for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon were subsequently filed.
In August 2025, nearly three years after Hart's death, the 47th District Attorney's Office upgraded the murder charge to capital murder. Court documents dated August 22 alleged that Deng intentionally caused the death of Lawrence Hart by shooting him while trying to rob him. Deng's last court hearing before trial was in July 2025, for a requested bond reduction, which was denied.
Trial and conviction
Deng's capital murder trial was held in the 108th District Court of Potter County, the Honorable Timothy Pirtle presiding. Deng was represented at trial by Michael Warner. The State was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Donald "Chip" Parker II and Zachary McMillan. Deng pleaded not guilty to capital murder via murder in the course of robbery.
The State's theory was that Deng murdered Hart and then committed theft — taking Hart's gun and backpack — in the course of the robbery, elevating the offense to capital murder. On November 3, 2025, a Potter County jury found Deng guilty of capital murder after approximately 14 minutes of deliberation. The trial court imposed the automatic sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Appeal
Deng timely appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Supreme Judicial District of Texas at Amarillo (Seventh Court of Appeals), No. 07-25-00341-CR, from Cause No. 088033-E-CR in the 108th District Court of Potter County. On appeal, Deng was represented by John Bennett of the Panhandle Area Public Defender's Office; the State was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Jack Owen and Kerry Sullivan. Deng's appellant's brief was filed June 24, 2026.
Deng seeks to have the Court reform his conviction to simple murder and remand the case for a new punishment hearing. The central issue presented is whether the theft can be said to have "immediately followed" the murder so as to authorize a capital murder conviction. Deng argues that, under the evidence, the murder was completed at the front door before any theft, that the intervening shootings of two others separated the murder from the later taking of the gun and backpack, and that nothing indicated an intent to commit theft before or during the murder — noting in particular that Deng did not take the $3,499 found on Hart's person. The State, by contrast, argued at trial that the taking of the gun and backpack occurred in the course of the robbery. The appeal was pending as of mid-2026. The brief notes that indictments for the three apparent aggravated assaults had been timely returned.
Background
In October 2016, Deng and three other people were arrested after a man was robbed at gunpoint during an aggravated robbery at a south Amarillo home. Deng's prior felony history was the basis for the two unlawful-possession-of-a-firearm-by-a-convicted-felon charges filed in the 2022 case.
Key people
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Lawrence Hart, 19 | Victim; drug dealer; pronounced dead at the scene |
| Bol Marko Deng, 23 | Defendant; convicted of capital murder, sentenced to life without parole |
| Timothy Pirtle | Judge, 108th District Court of Potter County |
| Michael Warner | Deng's trial defense attorney |
| Donald "Chip" Parker II | Assistant District Attorney (trial) |
| Zachary McMillan | Assistant District Attorney (trial) |
| John Bennett | Deng's appellate counsel (Panhandle Area Public Defender) |
| Jack Owen | Assistant District Attorney (appeal) |
| Kerry Sullivan | Assistant District Attorney (appeal) |
| Richard Herman | Justice of the Peace (ordered autopsy) |
Key locations
| Location | Significance |
|---|---|
| 1900 block of NW 18th Ave., near NW 18th and Bonham, north Amarillo | "Trap house"/drug house where the shooting occurred |
Sources
- Amarillo Police Department, Nixle media release, Case No. 22-518720, October 29, 2022 (updated October 31, 2022). Link
- "Amarillo police arrest man accused of shooting 3 people, killing at least 1 of them," KVII / ABC7 Amarillo — https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/amarillo-texas-murder-arrest-amaroillo-police-department-bol-deng-1900-nw-18
- "Charge upgraded to Capital Murder in 2022 north Amarillo shooting," KFDA / NewsChannel 10, September 8, 2025 — https://www.newschannel10.com/2025/09/08/charge-upgraded-capital-murder-2022-north-amarillo-shooting/
- Sarah Clark, "14-minute verdict: Amarillo man convicted of capital murder," KFDA / NewsChannel 10, November 3, 2025 — https://www.newschannel10.com/2025/11/03/14-minute-verdict-amarillo-man-convicted-capital-murder/
- "One man robbed at gunpoint, 4 arrested," KFDA / NewsChannel 10, October 30, 2016 — https://www.newschannel10.com/story/33513812/one-man-robbed-at-gunpoint-4-arrested/
- Bol Marko Deng v. The State of Texas, Appellant's Brief, No. 07-25-00341-CR, Court of Appeals for the Seventh Supreme Judicial District of Texas at Amarillo (on appeal from Cause No. 088033-E-CR, 108th District Court of Potter County).