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Weatherford man gets 45 years for killing teen as he robbed him in marijuana deal

A Weatherford man who shot and killed a Poolville teen while he was trying to rob him in 2020 during a marijuana transaction was sentenced on Monday to 45 years in prison.

Jared Leonard Little, 20, pleaded guilty to murder in the killing of 19-year-old Tommy Scott Talley near Talley’s Poolville home in Parker County on April 24, 2020.

Little, who was 17 at the time of the murder, was sentenced in the 43rd District Court in Weatherford.

“Tommy’s family was supportive of this resolution as a way to guarantee that justice was served and that Mr. Little received a long prison sentence,” said Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain in a Tuesday news release. He handled the case along with Parker County Assistant District Attorney Abby Placke.

Little will be required to serve more than 22 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. He has served a bit over two years — that means he has at least 20 years still to go before the parole board will decide to keep or release him.

Talley was at his home in the 9700 block of Texas 199 on the night of April. 24, 2020, when he briefly left and met an unidentified person on the street.

The Weatherford teen had stepped outside to sell some marijuana to Little and two other people.

But Little had planned to rob Talley that night during the transaction, according to an affidavit obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

A witness told deputies with the Parker County Sheriff’s Office that Little was in the back seat of a vehicle when Talley walked up.

The witness, who was the driver, said that Little grabbed the marijuana and yelled, “Go!”

The witness turned around and saw Little and Talley scuffling over the marijuana. At some point, the witness said he saw Little shoot Talley, who fell to the roadway, according to the affidavit. Little and the other two suspects drove away.

Talley ran back to his home, where he collapsed at the doorway. Family members and friends found Talley and tried to revive him by performing CPR until paramedics arrived. The teen died at the scene.

Little was arrested a few days later.

In a victim impact statement, Talley’s sister, who was not identified by the district attorney, told the courtroom on Monday that her brother loved fishing, was gentle, kind, fun-loving, and enjoyed quoting lines from movies while imitating the film character’s voice.

She said that he was “larger than life” and that she is “still his biggest fan.”

Little also listened while a victim impact statement was read from Talley’s little brother.

“Losing my best friend was one of the hardest things that I could imagine,” his brother said, according to a news release. “I sit in silence waiting to hear his advice one more time.”