"Demon" with 666 tattoo gets two life sentences

Lavonie Demon Land, who has a large “666” tattooed across his back, was handed two life sentences after being convicted of murdering one brother and wounding the other, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Monday.

 

“This was a senseless attack that devastated a family,” Ogg said. “Our prosecutors were able to show the jury that this man is a predator who needs to be forever kept off the streets of our community.”

 

Land, 37, was convicted of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon Friday afternoon for the incident outside the store located at 4700 Market, in the Greater Fifth Ward.

 

One of the brothers went inside the store and an argument broke out between him and Land, who was a stranger.  Land followed him outside, then pulled a handgun and began shooting.

 

He shot the younger brother in the back, and the other brother, as he got out of the passenger side of their vehicle and stood up. Land then fled the scene while laughing, according to witnesses.

 

The older brother, Jose Juvenal Gonzalez, 30, was taken to a hospital, where he died. The younger brother, Jose Miguel Gonzalez, then 20, was also taken to a hospital. He survived his wounds.

 

Land was arrested weeks later after he was caught on surveillance video in another case as he confronted a man and then chased him down and shot him in the back.

 

That victim also survived, and testified against Land during the week-long trial.

 

After convicting Land, jurors were told during the punishment phase of proceedings, that Land had been sentenced to prison in an earlier case in which he shot two men in the back during a confrontation.

 

They were also shown a photo of the“666” tattoo across Land’s back.

 

Assistant District Attorney Whitney Rasberry, who prosecuted the case with ADA Napoleon Stewart, said two life sentences, which will run concurrently, were a just result in the case.

 

“If he ever sets foot in regular society again, we believe he will shoot someone again,” Rasberry said. “He was an extremely dangerous guy, and the jury knew that and gave him two life sentences and two $10,000 fines. They told us afterward that they wanted to make a statement.”

 

The case was investigated by the Houston Police Department.