FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - A man will serve four months in prison after acknowledging in a plea deal with North Texas prosecutors that he caused the death of Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens' grandson by injecting him with heroin.
Tarrant County prosecutors said Monday that 23-year-old Brennan Rodriguez was also sentenced to 10 years of probation after pleading guilty to delivery of a controlled substance. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped murder and other charges against Rodriguez.
Twenty-one-year-old Thomas "Ty" Boone Pickens IV was at Rodriguez's Fort Worth apartment in January 2013 when the drug was injected into his arm.
A grand jury in June 2013 had indicted Rodriguez on murder and other charges.
The elder Pickens made much of his fortune in oil drilling but has since become an advocate for alternative energy.
Timeline:
- Jan. 29, 2013: TCU statement: T. Boone Pickens' grandson has died
- March 27, 2013: Suspected overdose at apartment where Ty Pickens spent final hours
- April 25, 2013: Ty Pickens' death ruled heroin overdose
- June 11, 2013: Suspended TCU student indicted in fatal overdose of T. Boone Pickens' grandson
