Killeen Man Found Guilty Of Murder After High-Speed Chase

A man was found guilty of murder Wednesday afternoon after killing two passengers in a high-speed crash in April 2012.

Bell County jurors found 23-year-old John Stanton Beasley Jr. guilty of the deaths of 39-year-old Tamojeane Tambakis and 33-year-old James Carl Broland. Beasley led Killeen police on a chase near downtown on April 14, 2012 before crashing into a utility pole. Tambakis and Broland, who were both riding in the back seat, died in the impact. Data from the Chevrolet Tahoe Beasley was driving indicate that the vehicle reached speeds as high as 89 mph before crashing.

Beasley had borrowed the Tahoe from his father and claims that he attempted to pull the vehicle over one police began their pursuit, but he was threatened with a weapon by Broland. A knife was found at the accident site with some blood on it, but the jury was not convinced of Beasley’s story. Beasley had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit at the time of the crash according to a technical supervisor with the Texas Department of Transportation.

The state of Texas does not have a vehicular homicide or manslaughter charge, so Beasley faces sentencing on two counts of murder.