A Denton County jury sentenced Alec Adamson to four years in prison on Monday for the shooting death of 19-year-old David Pleasant in Little Elm in 2023.
Originally on trial for first-degree murder, the 19-year-old Adamson was convicted of lesser-included aggravated assault.
A lesser-included offense means the jury found Adamson guilty of a crime, but not of murder as he was charged going into trial. Juries might consider lesser-included offenses if they feel the evidence did not fully support the offense as charged, but did not support a not-guilty verdict either.
Adamson faced two to 20 years in prison. The jury deliberated for about 3 1/2 hours before delivering the sentence.
Adamson also received over two years and one month of jail credit toward his sentence for the time he spent in the Denton County Jail awaiting trial.
As a result, he has already served over half of the sentence and is immediately eligible for parole.
The Pleasant family had told the Denton Record-Chronicle on Friday that they did not have a specific sentence in mind. The family said they did not expect Adamson to spend his whole life in prison but, ideally, they would like him to serve more time than the two years he already has.
State prosecutors Paul Hiemke and Lauren Marshall had asked the jury to impose the maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.
After the sentencing verdict, David Pleasant’s mother, Aisha Pleasant, gave an impassioned victim impact statement and addressed Adamson directly.
Before the trial, Aisha Pleasant said, she was not sure how she would feel seeing Adamson. “Surprisingly,” she said, “I didn’t hate you.”
She told Adamson about a time when another student assaulted her son at school because he thought David Pleasant was “messing” with his girlfriend. She said her son declined to press charges against the other student.
Her reason for telling that story, she said, is because that is how she knows David Pleasant would have forgiven Adamson for killing him.
Aisha Pleasant said she will eventually forgive him but, right now, nothing about the scenario makes sense to her.
She left the courtroom in tears.
Sarah Roland, one of Adamson’s defense attorneys, told the Record-Chronicle after the trial ended that it was clear the jury’s conviction verdict was a compromise. That is the only way, Roland said, that it would make sense that the jury convicted him of aggravated assault.
For the jury to find him guilty of aggravated assault, Roland said, they would also have to believe the shooting was unjustified. If the jury did not believe there was defensible reason for the shooting, Roland said, then the offense would be murder.
It seemed to Roland, she said, that some people leaned guilty while others leaned not guilty, and after 13 hours of deliberating, compromised. The same can be said of the sentence, Roland said.
Hiemke deferred comment about the trial to First Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck.
Beck also said the conviction does not make any sense to her.
“If this was a crime, and if there was no defense, then this is a murder,” Beck said.
The District Attorney’s Office and the Pleasant family, Beck said, are disappointed in both verdicts.
Adamson already had the chance, Beck said, to reform his life when his friend Mason Schiller suffered a life-altering fentanyl overdose. He has already had more opportunities than most young people, Beck said, and has a compassionate, loving family, too.
Instead, Beck said, Adamson continued activities that led to the death of another young person.
Beck said she worries about the message that it sends to other young men in the community.
“We’re not happy,” Beck said. “We don’t think this is what society wants. This is not the kind of message we want to send to our young men at this very vulnerable age, that gun violence is acceptable. A four-year sentence basically says just that.”
What the jury heard
While state law limits what testimony is admissible in the guilty-not-guilty phase of a trial, the sentencing portion of a trial allows the jury to hear about Adamson and his family and David Pleasant and his family’s lives outside of the shooting.
Aisha Pleasant, David’s mother, was the only character witness to testify about him.
She testified that her son was a good student who was beloved by many friends and educators at Lone Star High School.
Through tears, Aisha told the jury about how her son’s death had upended her life.
She can’t celebrate her birthday in February anymore because that month serves as a reminder of her loss. She said she waits for holidays to “hurry up and pass” now because they aren’t the same without her son.
People have told her it gets better with time, she said, but she is still waiting for it to get better.
In cross examination, Roland asked Aisha about her son’s arrest in July 2021. Roland presented evidence that David Pleasant was charged with two misdemeanor vehicle burglaries.
David Pleasant was not convicted because he was placed in a pre-trial diversion program. This program, according to Denton County’s website, is typically for low-risk, first-time offenders in non-violent misdemeanor cases.
Prosecutors also offered evidence of the drugs collected from Adamson’s bedroom closet on Feb. 3, 2023. The type and amount of drugs would result in two first-degree felonies. Adamson, prosecutors provided evidence of, was also illegally in possession of a firearm at that time.
The jury also heard testimony that Adamson received two citations in September 2022 for minor in possession of alcohol and minor in possession of tobacco.
Prosecutors also offered two phone calls that Adamson made from jail in the days after his arrest. Arguing that Adamson was unremorseful, the prosecutors highlighted to the jury how he was laughing about his friends being high and seemed concerned chiefly about his public image.
Roland argued that the calls illustrate he was trying to make sure his mother and girlfriend had support while he was jailed. Adamson asked his friends to take his mother meals and be there for his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.
Roland also argued that prosecutors had 2 1/2 years, and hundreds of recorded jail calls, to come up with something more damning. Instead, Roland argued, her client has shown he can be a productive member of society.
In Adamson’s defense, Roland called several witnesses to testify to his character, his compliance with court orders and what he has done since the shooting.
After his arrest on Feb. 3, 2023, Adamson spent two years in the Denton County Jail awaiting trial.
By April 2023, Adamson earned his General Equivalency Degree.
His father, Shannon Adamson, testified that they could not afford bail for his $250,000 bond until two years later, when a family friend offered to pay half.
Since age 15, Alec Adamson has always worked, Shannon Adamson testified, and sometimes held two part-time jobs while going to school. She told the jury that her son knows the financial burden this has placed on their nearly bankrupt family and is working to pay them back.
The jury heard from bond company employees, who testified that Alec Adamson has complied with all of the conditions of his bond, including GPS monitoring and random drug testing.
Since his release on March 21, the jury heard, Adamson has sought and maintained consistent employment.
Adamson’s employer, Arma Abbas, who owns BBA Luxury Weddings in Dallas, also testified. She said he has worked for her since late March, working six- to 18-hour shifts. He works in a managerial role, overseeing inventory and contractor scheduling, among other duties, she said.
He is honest, communicative and gets along great with others, Abbas said, and is a reliable employee.
Adamson was forthcoming about what he was accused of, his boss said. She asked him a lot of questions, and he answered every single one, and he seemed “extremely remorseful.”
Adamson is in charge of a lot of money and equipment at her business, Abbas said. So, she said she asked him some very difficult questions. She testified that she trusts him completely.
After his release, Adamson also began attending Lewisville Lighthouse Church. Senior Pastor Richard Brunson, who also works with Kairos Prison Ministry, said Adamson walked into the church one day in May and was accepted with open arms.
Brunson said Adamson has been involved in the church and regularly volunteers his time to play in the church band and work church events. The pastor testified that he believes Adamson is earnest in his church participation.
Brunson said he baptized Adamson in July after he sufficiently demonstrated his devotion to the faith, understanding of the doctrine and other necessary evidence of his relationship with God.
Despite Adamson’s felony conviction Friday, Brunson said he has no regrets. His congregation prayed over the Adamson family over the weekend.