Man sentenced to life without parole for murder in San Marcos

Sierra Martin | Managing Editor

HAYS COUNTY — Kyle Sample, 24, of Three Rivers, Texas, was sentenced on Thursday, March 3, 2022, in Hays County District Court to life without the possibility of parole for committing the capital murder of Ryan Kincaid during an attempted robbery.

On June 19, 2017, the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) was alerted by multiple 911 callers that an individual had been shot in the parking lot of the Laundry Basket laundromat off of Aquarena Springs Drive. Officers and EMTs arrived on scene and despite lifesaving efforts, the victim, Ryan Kincaid, was pronounced deceased on scene. Kincaid had been shot once in the chest. Eyewitnesses described seeing two potential assailants: the shooter had fled on foot, while an accomplice had driven away in a vehicle.

The vehicle in question was located by officers across the street in a nearby parking lot. The vehicle was registered to Kincaid. Officers and detectives began canvassing the area, and SMPD Detective Patrick Aubry located the two suspects at the nearby Motel 8. The shooter, identified as Kyle Randall Sample, confessed to traveling from Three Rivers, Texas, to San Marcos in the company of a 15-year-old juvenile accomplice.

The two staged a robbery: the juvenile contacted Kincaid, offering to purchase marijuana from him. Upon Kincaid’s arrival, the juvenile entered Kincaid’s vehicle. Sample then approached the vehicle, brandishing a .45 caliber revolver. When Kincaid attempted to defend himself, Sample shot Kincaid once in the chest.

The juvenile then drove Kincaid’s vehicle away from the scene while Sample fled on foot. SMPD detective Michael Casillas and other investigators corroborated Sample’s confession and the other witnesses’ statements with electronic extractions of the suspects’ and victim’s cell phones.

At the close of the evidence, the jury found Sample guilty of intentionally murdering Kincaid in the course of a robbery. The prosecution was not seeking the death penalty, making life without parole automatic. Judge Bruce Boyer of the 22^nd Judicial District Court pronounced the sentence immediately following the verdict.

The Hays County Criminal District Attorney, Wes Mau, complimented lead prosecutor Assistant Criminal District Attorney Ben Gillis, assisted at trial by ACDA Andrea Farrell, along with San Marcos Detectives Aubry and Casillas for their work in bringing the case to a successful conclusion.