Habitual offender gets 35 years for ditching knife after slaying

Eric Crayton was acquitted of murder but con- victed of evi- dence tampering and sentenced to 35 years. Eric Crayton was acquitted of murder but con- victed of evi- dence tampering and sentenced to 35 years. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Habitual offender gets 35 years for ditching knife after slaying 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Canyon Lake man received a 35-year prison sentence on Monday in Comal County for disposing of the knife with which he'd killed an attacker minutes earlier on Jan. 19, 2012.

Eric B. Crayton, 37, was acquitted of murder Friday in the death of Thomas L. Kitto, 41, with jurors accepting his claim that he acted in self-defense.

However, they convicted Crayton of evidence tampering for throwing away the weapon after the deadly altercation at the Canyon Falls RV Park in Canyon Lake.

The slaying occurred at the home of Andrea Hebert, then Kitto's girlfriend and neighbor, who told investigators that Kitto was fatally wounded in the chest after he assaulted Crayton.

Hebert, who said she then told Crayton to “split,” testified that one other person, a man named Scott, was there. He couldn't be located later.

Defense attorney Josh Erwin said Crayton told investigators where he'd allegedly tossed the knife into a creek, but it was never recovered.

Crayton, designated a habitual offender because of two previous felony convictions, faced a punishment range of 25 years to 99 years at the sentencing hearing by the jury Monday in New Braunfels.

“The prosecutor asked for life and we asked for the minimum and they came back with 35 years,” Erwin said.

zeke@express-news.net