Spencer Gilbert: Texas 'prom party killer' sentenced to 55 years for fatal shooting of Jaden Moblin
GODLEY, TEXAS: A Godley man was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the murder of a 20-year-old earlier this year at a 'post-prom' party in Johnson County.
A Johnson County judge handed down the sentence to 20-years-old Spencer Orlando Gilbert II on Tuesday, December 19 in the fatal shooting of Ja’Den Moblin.
Spencer Gilbert sentenced to 55 years in prison
According to court documents, Gilbert was found guilty on two charges of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of murder, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Gilbert will not be eligible for parole until 2051 and must complete at least half of his 55-year term, according to the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.
According to a Facebook post from the sheriff's office, on April 16, just after midnight, sheriff deputies were called to a gunshot at a residence on County Road 913 in Godley.
They found that Moblin had been shot numerous times in home's backyard and that the suspect had quickly left the scene with a number of other people. According to sheriff's office, deputies discovered that house was the location of a 'post-prom party' for Grandview and Cleburne students and their pals. At the time of the shooting, there were about fifty persons present, most of them students.
Gilbert attempted to flee from police
Detectives discovered Gilbert and someone else in the Godley residence had left the area and were heading towards Houston, the sheriff's office reported several hours after the shooting. Local police authorities found an automobile that was connected to Gilbert in the city.
According to the sheriff's office, he tried to elude Houston police and engaged in a fast paced pursuit with them before crashing and attempting to escape the car. After a brief foot pursuit on April 16, Gilbert was taken into jail.The sheriff's office reports that after a search of the vehicle, numerous firearms, including the one used to kill Moblin, were discovered.
According to records, Gilbert was found guilty in 2022 of criminal injury to a child, senior, or disabled person with the intent to inflict physical harm. In addition to serving a 10-year term in the Community Supervision and Corrections Departments, the offender was also required to complete anger management classes. Later, in March 2023, the penalty was changed to include 160 hours of community service.
Gilbert shot Ja'Den Moblin in the head on prom night, killing him just a few weeks later. Moblin subsequently passed away in a Fort Worth hospital.Ja'den Moblin donated his organs to "bless others in need," according to a GoFundMe page. According to information released by the authorities on Thursday, three people he never met had their lives saved or improved by Moblin's organs.
During an interview in April, Moblin’s mother Genell said her son was a 'selfless person in a lot of ways' who would give you the shirt off of his back. Ja’den “really gave a lot of himself to help whoever needed to be helped or loved,” she said.
