'Jealousy and faulty information': Man used 3D printed gun and silencer in highway shooting as part of murder-for-hire attack on wrong victim

Two men successful Texas volition beryllium spending the remainder of their lives down bars aft a murder-for-hire crippled targeting the incorrect man.

In February, Ricardo Obando Jr., 52, who hails from Houston, and Michael Seery, 43, who hails from Katy — a suburb of Houston — were convicted connected assorted counts against them implicit the crippled that earnestly injured an unidentified antheral who was connected his mode to work.

Obando was convicted of 2 counts related to the murder-for-hire conspiracy and 3 weapons charges, according to tribunal records reviewed by Law&Crime. Seery was convicted of those aforesaid counts positive 2 further counts of being a felon successful possession of a firearm.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced some defendants to beingness successful prison. The tribunal besides sentenced each antheral to varying amounts of further clip down bars which were assessed to tally consecutively, meaning successful summation to their beingness sentences.

The underlying incidental occurred owed to Seery's suspicions that his woman had been unfaithful to him portion helium was successful prison. So, Seery contracted Obando for the sidesplitting job, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.

After months of planning, the unit culminated connected the greeting of Feb. 4, 2025, on Highway 99. Obando fired respective shots into the unsuspecting victim's vehicle. The antheral suffered gunshot wounds to his neck, torso, and 1 manus but someway survived.

Video from wrong the victim's in-car camera recorded the harrowing infinitesimal the shots rang retired and the ensuing 911 call, according to a courtroom study by Houston-based NBC affiliate KPRC.

Obando utilized a 3D printed weapon and a silencer during the attack.

"An guiltless unfortunate was ambushed by gunfire during his regular commute—all due to the fact that of 1 man's jealousy and faulty information," U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said successful a statement.

As it turned out, Seery got the intended unfortunate each incorrect due to the fact that the existent people had precocious moved to different address.

During the trial, national prosecutors showed jurors cellphone grounds demonstrating Obando's extended surveillance connected the unfortunate arsenic good arsenic an earlier failed effort connected the man's life, according to a courtroom study by Houston-area ABC affiliate KTRK.

The assemblage besides had clip to see a considerably delayed reaction: During the trial, Seery's woman testified that the matter the antheral was upset astir had occurred immoderate 12 years ago.

"Testimony revealed that adjacent successful January 2025, a fewer weeks earlier the execution attempt, Seery was aggravated astir the affair," the national property merchandise reads, "Evidence included aggregate photos of assorted firearms and firearm parts recovered astatine Seery's location and retention unit. The assemblage besides saw the 3D printer Seery utilized to manufacture the limb and silencer that Obando is believed to person used."

During the trial, instrumentality enforcement testified that Seery paid Obando done his concern to disguise the quality of the payments for the hit.

Still, the proceedings was not a cleanable expanse for the state.

Jurors acquitted a 3rd man, Matthew Rosas, 25, who was allegedly driving the conveyance erstwhile the shooting occurred.

"This was a precise unsocial lawsuit and a large illustration of however local, state, and national instrumentality enforcement agencies worked unneurotic to lick what was primitively thought to beryllium a roadworthy rage incidental but turned retired to beryllium a highly planned assassination effort connected the incorrect person," Jason Hudson, the Special Agent successful Charge of the Houston FBI office, said successful a statement connected Facebook.