Xavier Bass (Source: Tarrant County Jail) (FOX Local)
FORT WORTH, Texas - A 29-year-old Georgia man was sentenced to life in prison Monday after pleading guilty to the June 2024 murder of his father, a retired U.S. Army master sergeant and Crowley ISD JROTC instructor, in Fort Worth.
Life sentence
A Tarrant County jury sentenced Xavier Bass, 29, to life in prison for the fatal shooting of 54-year-old Gene General Bass.
Timeline:
Prosecutors said Xavier Bass spent months planning the attack before driving his Ford Mustang from Georgia to his father’s home on Chesapeake Bay Drive in South Fort Worth on June 28, 2024.
Crowley ISD JROTC instructor told son to 'stop playing with that gun' before being shot, witnesses say
Master Sergeant Gene Bass told his son to "stop playing with that gun before you shoot someone," according to witnesses. The 27-year-old then opened fire.
Around 2:25 p.m., Xavier Bass walked up to his father outside the residence and opened fire, striking him 12 times. The Tarrant County Attorney General's office said Xavier chased after his father as he tried to run. Gene Bass died in the front yard.
Following the shooting, Xavier Bass left the scene in his vehicle and drove back to Georgia. He was taken into custody the following day without incident by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office at a residence in Valdosta, Georgia, and subsequently extradited back to Tarrant County.
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Crowley ISD JROTC instructor killed by son, police say
A Georgia man is accused of driving to Fort Worth and killing his father. The man who was killed was a Junior ROTC instructor at North Crowley High School.
Gene Bass served as an Army Instructor for the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) program within Crowley ISD following his retirement from the military.
The case was prosecuted by Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Ashlea Deener.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office and previous reporting.