Driver Shooter gets 30 years in jail for killing Dallas postal worker

Tony Mosby volunteered for the night job of a colleague at the post office when the driver of an SUV cut his truck off a highway through downtown Dallas.

That was Donnie Arlondo Ferrell's girlfriend at the wheel of the 2008 Mazda Tribute, and Ferrell did not like the way the truck driver handled the situation, prosecutors said. Ferrell leaned out of the window and fired a revolver four times, shooting at Mosby's head.

Ferrell, 26, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in federal prison for the murderous murder committed in February 2018.

"He wanted to show his love for his girlfriend and his cousins," said US Assistant Attorney P.J. Meitl.

The occupants of the Mazda saw the Mosby truck off the road and crashed shortly after 2 am on Interstate 30, but they did not stop and none of them called the 911 to signal the shot, said Meitl.

Mosby, 58, a man of heart called "Big Mo," worked for 14 years in the mail service and was known for collecting children's toys and sharing cooked meals with co-workers, family members said on Wednesday.

Ferrell was arrested two days after the murder when his cousin, who was in the vehicle that night, went to the police. The court records show that he had told those who accompanied him to talk to no one about it.

"His life counted," said Meitl about the victim. He had asked for a 35-year sentence for Ferrell.

US Judge Ed Kinkeade, of the US District, said the crime was worse than other murders, in a sense, because it was "purely random".

"This man did nothing to provoke this," Kinkeade said of Mosby.

John Nicholson, Ferrell's lawyer, had asked the judge for 25 years, claiming that his client had not planned the crime but had acted impulsively in the "fire of action". Nicholson said Ferrell only wanted to scare Mosby and had not planned to shoot him.

Ferrell, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in February to the second-degree murder of a US government employee and to the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. He had faced prison for life.

Ferrell, reading a note, said in court that he had been "emotionally and spiritually torn" by Mosby's death and had asked the victim's family for forgiveness. He also said that he was ashamed and angry at his actions that night.

Prosecutors said Ferrell, his girlfriend and two cousins ​​had drunk in a billiard room before leaving together, with Ferrell replacing the front passenger of the Mazda SUV.

At one point, Ferrell "was indignant at what he thought had been done by Mr. Mosby on the highway" and fired four shots at the US Post Office truck on the ### 39, Interstate 30, just west of downtown Dallas, officials said.

The truck crashed against a safety gate on a ramp leading to Interstate 35E, throwing smoke and sparks into the air.

Ferrell said he saw the driver of the truck making a hand gesture that irritated him, according to court documents.

His girlfriend, Bei-jing "Channelle" Tashawna Walker, was charged with an accessory by the federal government and was accused of helping Ferrell escape the authorities. She pleaded not guilty.

After the cousin came forward on February 21, 2018, the police went to a house in Hutchins to arrest Ferrell.

Ferrell however, retired to the house and threatened to kill himself, authorities said. Two hours later, he surrendered and was arrested. Nicholson said his client was not in an armed standoff with the police, but was so scared that he "could not walk his legs".

Ferrell has only one conviction on his record, a robbery in a store, Nicholson said.

In asking for a lower prison sentence, Nicholson told the judge that his client's short status – he is 5 feet 5 inches and weighs 130 pounds – makes him a target that can be attacked by other inmates. He added that Ferrell might be considered a teenager and spend more time in jail than others.

The prosecutor, Meitl, had asked the judge for a 35-year sentence, claiming that violent incidents of violent driving rage were becoming too frequent and that there was not enough deterrence with regard to justice system. He said that 96% of road rage incidents are committed by men in their twenties like Ferrell.

Meitl said Mosby had left two girls and was considered the "family rock".

"He was constantly preparing this next feast," said Meitl about the barbecue lover.

After the hearing, Ben Ferrell, the accused's great-uncle, stated that Mosby was the kind of man that his nephew hoped to become.

"Donnie made a stupid mistake," he says.