Texas authorities have released a man previously accused of murder following the discovery of new evidence that proves he could not have committed the crime.
Mark Anthony Crooms, who was facing charges in the death of his friend, 19-year-old John Dennis Holmes III, was freed from Montgomery County Jail on July 22 after investigators confirmed his alibi.
Surveillance footage had earlier shown Crooms and his mother, Tracey Shepard, being confronted by police at their Humble, Texas, home on Crooms’s 20th birthday.
“They didn’t even tell me right away what I was being arrested for. They waited until I got to the car,” Crooms said, according to FOX26 in Houston. “I asked myself, ‘What am I being arrested for?’ They said murder. I asked, ‘The murder of who?’ and they slammed the door in my face.”
Crooms said he and Holmes had recently hung out together, inadvertently making him a suspect when Holmes was found shot dead last week in Spring, Texas, near the 300 block of Raypine Drive.
New evidence now shows Crooms was not at the scene of the crime.
Shepard noted that the same surveillance cameras that had captured her son’s arrest also proved he was at home at the time of the slaying.
“He went to pick up something to eat at about 6:20 at McDonald’s. He came back and you can see him on the camera,” Shepard explained. “He decided to go outside and throw his trash away at 6:43 p.m. John was murdered at 6:40 p.m., so how could he possibly be 17 miles away murdering someone?”
Crooms mentioned that the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office had claimed his fingerprints were found in Holmes’s car.
“They said my fingerprints were in his car and I told them, of course my fingerprints would be in his car because I was with him the same day,” Crooms explained.
It wasn’t until Monday, after police reviewed the video evidence, that Crooms was released and his charges were dropped.
While mother and son are pleased he’s home safely, Crooms said his mother had to beg the investigator to watch the surveillance footage they knew would prove his innocence. Additionally, she believes her son is owed an apology.
In a statement, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office defended the man’s arrest and the weekend he spent in jail, saying he was a viable suspect at the time.
“An arrest warrant was issued for Crooms based on probable cause established during the early stages of the investigation,” the statement said. “This development highlights our unwavering commitment to conducting thorough and fair investigations. The integrity of our investigative process is paramount, and we remain dedicated to transparency and accountability in all of our operations.”
Authorities said the investigation into the death of John Dennis Holmes III remains ongoing.
Most importantly, Shepard prays Holmes’ family receives justice. “I’m just hoping and praying to God his mama gets closure and they find John’s killer.”
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at (936) 760-5800, option 3. To provide information anonymously, call Multi-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-392-STOP (7867) and refer to case #24A203879.
