Galveston County: Woman convicted of murder in Texas City bar stabbing

GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas - A woman has learned her sentence following a stabbing at a Texas City bar in August 2024, officials said.

Hitchcock woman sentenced following 2024 Texas City bar stabbing

According to a release, Shinyce IJ Felder of Hitchcock was sentenced to 35 years for murder and eight years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon earlier this week. 

The backstory:

Officials said it all started in August 2024 when the Texas City Police Department were called out to Time Out #5 in Texas City. 

When officials arrived, they found an unresponsive woman being carried out of the bar and placed on the sidewalk. 

The woman, later identified as Brittany Richard, was taken to HCA Mainland Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Another victim, Shametria "Tootie" Richard, was taken to UTMB Galveston for multiple stab wounds. 

After further investigation including obtaining surveillance footage from two local bars and speaking with witnesses, Felder was indicted for murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. 

Shinyce IJ Felder

Dig deeper:

Officials said jury trial began Monday, April 6 with Chief Violence Against Women Prosecutor Kate Willis and Assistant District Attorney Samantha Fonseca conducting the prosecution. Jurors first heard from employees of Time Out Bar #5 who told the jury that upon arrival, the defendant, said "[expletive deleted] is about to pop off." 

Other witnesses present during the incident testified how Brittany, the deceased victim, and her group were a close family who were in a happy mood and celebrating that night, officials said. 

Officials stated prosecutors presented surveillance video from Time Out showing an altercation beginning between the defendant and her friends and the victims and their friends. The video showed Felder standing apart from everyone else, taking a step back from everyone, and pulling a knife from her shirt. The jury watched different angles of the incident which showed Felder was not being attacked by a mob as alleged by a defense witness. Instead, the video showed that Felder was the only one who pulled out a deadly weapon and that she used it to stab Brittany Richard nine times and Tootie Richard three times.

Defense witnesses, including the father of Brittany’s children, changed stories multiple times under cross examination by Willis. Jurors heard from lead detective Larry Williamson whose analysis of four different cell phones painted a picture of Felder and her friends lying in wait for Richards that night. Messages stating that the group was watching the Richards group as they entered the bar negated defense’s argument that Felder did not know Brittany was inside the bar, officials said. 

What's next:

Officials said the sentences will be served concurrently.