Jurors rejected Romi Frentescu’s claim that he acted in self-defense during a confrontation involving rival motorcycle groups.
WACO, Texas — A McLennan County jury convicted Romi Frentescu of capital murder Wednesday in the 2024 shooting deaths of a father and son near Bruceville-Eddy, sending the 33-year-old former motorcycle group official to prison for life without the possibility of parole.
Jurors deliberated for about an hour before finding Frentescu guilty of killing Michael David Morris, 38, and Morris’ 18-year-old son, Braxton Johnson. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, making life without parole the automatic sentence following the capital murder conviction. The charge covered the killing of more than one person during the same criminal episode.
The killings happened in October 2024 at the intersection of Mackey Ranch Road and Old Moody Road near Bruceville-Eddy. Testimony showed that Frentescu and Morris had a history of conflict connected in part to rival motorcycle groups. Frentescu was a former secretary of the Ugly Man Cossacks, while Morris was associated with a splinter group known as the Cossacks 1%ers.
Frentescu took the witness stand during his trial and maintained that he fired in self-defense. He testified that Morris pulled a switchblade during the roadside confrontation and that Johnson struck him in the head. Frentescu said he believed he faced a deadly threat and used his gun to protect himself.
Other witnesses gave jurors a different account. Brian Pugh, a friend of Morris who said he witnessed the confrontation, testified that Morris and Frentescu appeared ready for a fistfight when Johnson ran toward his father. Pugh said Frentescu stepped back, drew a handgun and fired at Morris before turning the weapon toward Johnson. Witnesses testified that they did not see Morris holding a knife during the shooting.
Evidence presented during the case also focused on what happened immediately afterward. Prosecutors said Frentescu left in a red pickup and then returned while passersby were trying to help the victims. Dorothy Sanders, a Veterans Affairs nurse who stopped at the scene, testified that she began performing CPR on Morris before Frentescu approached her and ordered her to stop. Sanders told jurors that he threatened to shoot her if she continued helping Morris, prompting her to back away.
Earlier testimony included a witness who recalled hearing Frentescu use profanity while saying Morris should be allowed to die. The nurse’s testimony at trial provided a more detailed account of the alleged threat. Prosecutors used the encounter as part of their case that Frentescu’s actions were inconsistent with his claim that he had reluctantly fired only to defend himself.
The defense argued that Morris had been harassing Frentescu before the fatal encounter. Frentescu testified that Morris had previously threatened him and his family. On the day of the killings, he said Morris rode past his home, revved his motorcycle and made an obscene gesture. Frentescu acknowledged riding to Morris’ residence and later waiting at the intersection where the confrontation occurred, but said his purpose was to tell Morris to stop bothering him.
Investigators had documented Frentescu’s self-defense claim shortly after the shooting. An arrest affidavit said he told police that Morris punched him and displayed a switchblade before another person struck him. Officers recovered a closed switchblade, according to the affidavit, but investigators also reported finding no visible injuries on Frentescu’s arms, chest, neck or head. The document cited other physical evidence that investigators said conflicted with portions of his account.
Frentescu’s wife, Alyssa Marleen Sevilla, had been arrested after the killings on allegations that included being a party to capital murder and tampering with evidence. KWTX reported during the trial that she had not been indicted on those allegations. Sevilla invoked her Fifth Amendment right and did not testify when called as a potential defense witness.
The jury’s verdict ended Frentescu’s capital murder trial Wednesday. With prosecutors having taken the death penalty off the table, the conviction resulted in a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
Author note: Last updated August 13, 2026.