Spencer Orlando Gilbert: Texas man who bragged about a fatal shooting gets over 50 years in prison
GODLEY, TEXAS: A young Texas man who swanked about a fatal April shooting on social media and also smiled in a mugshot after he was caught, has been sentenced to more than five decades behind bars as he is set to remain in state prison for murder until at least 2051 when he would first be eligible for parole.
Spencer Orlando Gilbert II didn’t smile this time in Johnson County mugshots once he faced the reality that his prosecution in the murder of Ja’Den Moblin, 20, at a “post-prom” house party in Godley attended by some 50 students and friends was careening towards conviction.
What charges does Spencer Orlando Gilbert face?
The court docket indicates that Spencer Gilbert pleaded guilty to murder, assault, and firearm possession by a felon charges on December 19 leading 413th District Court Judge William C Bosworth, Jr, to sentence him to 55 years behind bars. However, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Gilbert will be eligible for parole in 27.5 years after he has served half of his prison sentence.
What happened at the 'post-prom' party?
Authorities said that a fight broke out after midnight on April 16 at a home where the “post-prom” party was held. Then multiple shots were fired.
“Deputies discovered that a young man, identified as Jaden Moblin, had been shot multiple times in the back yard of the residence and that the perpetrator had fled the scene with several other individuals immediately after the shooting occurred,” according to the sheriff’s office.
The case against Gilbert was bolstered not only by “multiple videos showing a fight between several individuals immediately before the shooting,” but also by the then-suspect’s own social media posts on Instagram “while bragging about the shooting” and “holding the murder weapon,” investigators said.
Spencer Orlando Gilbert tried to flee to Houston
Gilbert tried to flee to Houston and led local cops on a “brief high-speed chase,” but he crashed the car he was in into a pole, Cleburne Times reports. The vehicle contained “multiple firearms including the weapon used to kill Moblin earlier the same day,” the sheriff’s office added.
Law enforcement suggested the defendant dug his own hole further when he “later admitted bragging about the incident on Instagram in an interview with Texas Rangers” following his capture in the Houston area.
Spencer Orlando Gilbert was previously convicted in 2022
As per records, Gilbert was convicted in 2022 of felony injury to a child/elderly person/or person with a disability with intent to cause bodily injury. The defendant was sentenced to 10 years in the Community Supervision and Corrections Departments and had to attend anger management courses. The sentence was later amended in March 2023 to add 160 hours of community service.
But, just a few weeks later, Gilbert fatally shot Ja’Den Moblin in the head on prom night. Moblin later died at a hospital in Fort Worth.
The victim donated his organs to 'bless others in need'
A GoFundMe campaign revealed that Ja’den Moblin donated his organs to “bless others in need.” On Thursday, December 21, authorities said that Moblin’s organs went on to “save or better the lives of three individuals he never met.”
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. “I don’t care what you’re going through, I don’t care what it is. Pulling the trigger is not the answer,” Genell added tearfully.
