Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Criminal Justice Division Secures Life Sentence for Capital Murder in Midland

MILAND, TX -- A Midland County jury found Clinton Lee Young III guilty of capital murder for shooting Samuel Petrey in the head twice, in November 2001, at an oil lease site after carjacking him at gunpoint in Eastland, Texas.

Young had stolen a .22 Colt Huntsman pistol in a burglary of a sporting goods store in East Texas on November 23, 2001. He was seen by a witness leaving the Longview area in a white Grand Prix sedan on November 25, with the gun. Young was with David Page, Jr., a charged co-defendant. Young planned to travel to Midland to see his then-girlfriend. En route to Midland, Young and Page abandoned the Grand Prix. During this time, Samuel Petrey had returned to Eastland with his wife Lana after the Thanksgiving Holiday. Petrey went to the local Brookshire’s supermarket to buy groceries for the week. While at Brookshire’s, Young and Page robbed Petrey at gunpoint, kidnapped him, and forced Petrey to drive them to Midland in his white Chevrolet pickup truck.

The three men were captured on surveillance video at approximately 4:30 a.m. at a hospital in Odessa on November 26th. They were later captured together on surveillance video at a Walmart in northwest Midland at 7:15 a.m. While at the Walmart, Young attempted to buy another firearm, using Petrey as a “straw purchaser.” However, the clerk did not sell the firearm to Young. Afterward, Young and Page drove Petrey to an oil lease site south of Midland and murdered him. Afterward, Young dropped off Page to go on to visit his girlfriend alone. Based on cell phone records, law enforcement was able to determine that Young murdered Petrey sometime before 8:05 and 8:50 a.m. When Young met up with his girlfriend, she learned that he was in a stolen vehicle—Petrey’s white Chevrolet pickup truck— and he was seen again with the Colt Huntsman pistol. After they met, the authorities were contacted. When Midland County deputies and police officers located Young in Petrey’s pickup truck, a high-speed vehicle pursuit followed, in which law enforcement had to disable the vehicle Young was driving. When he was arrested, Young was in possession of the Colt Huntsman pistol. Ballistics evidence later established that the two shell casings found by Petrey’s body were fired from that pistol.

Young had been previously tried and convicted in 2003. However, his conviction was later vacated on appeal. Based on the law in effect at the time, Young must serve forty years before being eligible for parole. He has already served approximately twenty years in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney Generals Marie Primm, Joshua Somers, and Matthew Ottoway. Sgt. Investigator David Fugitt served as the lead OAG investigator on the case.