A 32-year-old man who fled to Louisiana after a deadly home invasion in the Cleveland area has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the January 2024 killing of a husband and father of three.
Anthony Lawrence Green was sentenced Monday, Nov. 9, after a Montgomery County jury found him guilty of Capital Murder on Friday, Nov. 6. Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before returning the guilty verdict, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
The case stems from a Jan. 25, 2024, home invasion in which Green and several other men from Harris County forced their way into a Cleveland-area residence looking for drugs and money.
According to prosecutors, the men demanded money from the family. When the family could not produce the money, the husband reached for a firearm beside his bed and was shot five times in the back. His wife and three daughters were inside the home at the time.
Three other people charged in connection with the home invasion were apprehended that night, but Green escaped. Investigators continued searching for him for more than a year before locating him in New Orleans, La., where he was taken into custody with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, with assistance from several other law enforcement agencies. The Splendora Police Department identified the getaway vehicle, which helped authorities apprehend three suspects the night of the killing. The Montgomery County Pct. 4 Constable’s Office also provided K-9 assistance in locating a fleeing suspect.
Investigators used surveillance footage, cellular records, location data, digital forensic evidence and testimony from co-defendants to establish Green’s involvement in the crime. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office Digital Forensics Unit also conducted an extensive analysis that helped investigators identify Green and reconstruct the events surrounding the killing.
Prosecutors secured Green’s conviction under Texas’ law of parties, which allows a person to be held criminally responsible for the actions of another participant in a crime under certain circumstances.
Chief prosecutors Brittney Aaron and Amy Waddle handled the case in the 435th District Court, with Judge Patty Maginnis presiding.
“A wife lost her husband. Three daughters lost their father. Their home should have been a place of safety, not the scene of an unimaginable tragedy. Nothing can restore what this family has lost, but the verdict ensures that one of the men responsible will never walk free again,” Aaron said.
Waddle credited investigators for continuing to pursue Green after he fled Texas.
“Anthony Green fled across state lines, but the evidence followed him. Investigators spent more than a year putting together the pieces of this case, and their determination ensured that distance would not become an escape from accountability,” Waddle said.
Montgomery County District Attorney Mike Holley said Green’s conviction demonstrates that those who participate in violent crimes can be held accountable even when they are not the person who fires the fatal shots.
“Anthony Green may not have acted alone, but he shares the responsibility for the life that was taken. Texas law recognizes that responsibility, and this sentence ensures he will never escape its consequences,” Holley said.
The District Attorney’s Office also recognized the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Splendora Police Department, Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service and forensic investigators for their work on the case.