Fort Worth man pleads guilty to 2018 murder of teen, sentenced to 40 years

A 36-year-old Fort Worth man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the October 2018 killing of Ja’Lyn Johnson, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

William Robert Edwards and two other men — Dalvin Poole and Douglas Sims — were arrested on charges related to the killing of Johnson, who was 18.

Johnson was shot in the neck on Oct. 4, 2018, in a robbery in the 5000 block of South Drive, near Hulen Mall in Fort Worth. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Edwards and Sims ran to Hulen Mall, where they tried to disguise themselves by changing clothes and were taken into custody near the food court, police have said. Poole was arrested three months later.

Tarrant County court records show that a charge of capital murder is still pending against Sims, 29. Sims remains in jail with bond set at $100,000. The state waived the death penalty in his case.

Poole, 28, was indicted on a charge of aggravated robbery and is awaiting trial. He’s in jail after violating conditions of his bond, according to court records.