Texas Executes Man for Killing 3 During Failed Robbery

(LeJames Norman. Photo by Fox 8 News)

A 40-year-old man has been put to death by lethal injection for fatally shooting three people during a failed robbery attempt at a neighbor's home in Texas.

LeJames Norman was executed Wednesday at the state prison in Huntsville after being sentenced to death for the 2005 killings of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, in Edna, a small town about 100 miles southwest of Houston.

Norman and an accomplice, Ker'Sean Ramey, believed cocaine was hidden in the house and planned to steal it.

They found no drugs but opened fire, killing all three residents.

Lopez was shot four times including three times in the back of the head.

Peacock was shot twice in the head.

Roberts was shot five times in the chest, neck and head.

Norman was arrested five months after the killings while attempting to cross back into the US from Mexico.

He admitted to capital murder, leaving a jury to decide his sentence.

Ramey was also convicted and is scheduled for execution next week.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute request from Norman's lawyers to halt the execution.

During his final moments, Norman lay on a thin mattress atop a steel table with his head resting on a white pillow.

A sister, two of his children and a friend watched through a window as the lethal dose took effect.

He took a few deep breaths, appeared to yawn and made snoring sounds before all movement ceased.

A physician confirmed his death at 6:44 pm. None of the victims' relatives attended the execution.