Man Connected To East Austin Fatal Shooting Sentenced to 20 Years' Imprisonment

EAST AUSTIN — One of the suspects connected to the murder of an East Austin resident more than two years ago was sentenced to a long prison sentence recently.

Allen Townsend, 28, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the fatal shooting of LeQuince Tomlin, 31, according to various media reports, including KXAN. Townsend and Terry Stowers are said to have forced their way into the Walnut Creek Apartments unit on Springdale Road looking for Tomlin, who had been staying there.

Two other occupants of the apartment were ordered to the floor while one of the suspects took money from Tomlin at gunpoint, KXAN reported. Townsend's defense attorney tried to appeal to the jury in asking for a lighter sentence, noting that when Townsed learned there were children in the apartment, he really wanted to leave and Stowers and alleged it was Stowers who pulled the trigger, the news station reported.

But prosecutors challenged the notion, saying Townsend knew children would be in the home even before entering it. The victim's mother only added to the indictment during her impact statement: "Twenty years is not enough," she told Townsend of his prison sentence while addressing him in court, according to the news station. "I won't get to see him anymore," she said of her son. "It's not fair."

Stowers’ murder trial is scheduled to start in September.

>>> Read the full story at KXAN

Allen Townsend booking photo via Austin Police Department