A Texas teen who fatally shot a Sonic Drive-In manager during a dispute over suspected counterfeit money in 2024 has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Adiah Roberson, now 19, received the sentence Friday after pleading no contest to murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the killing of Daniel Shrewsbury, 33, according to KSAT, KENS 5 and the San Antonio Express-News. She was also sentenced to 20 years on the assault charge, with both terms to be served concurrently.
Roberson was 17 at the time of the July 7, 2024 shooting, which occurred while Shrewsbury was working at a Sonic Drive-In on Babcock Road in San Antonio.
She entered her plea on Jan. 9. State District Judge Benjamin Robertson imposed the maximum sentence allowed under the agreement, saying he did so “reluctantly” after previously voicing concern that a 40-year cap might not be enough, the outlets reported.
Authorities said the confrontation began after Roberson attempted to pay for food with what employees believed was counterfeit money. When Shrewsbury followed her outside to photograph the vehicle’s license plate for a police report, Roberson allegedly got out of the car and shot him, the outlets said.
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Roberson was arrested in October 2024 at an apartment complex in Dallas following a months-long manhunt that landed her on Texas’s Top 10 Most Wanted list.
A second suspect, Joshua Joseph — the alleged driver of the car during the incident — was arrested in August 2024 in connection with the case, but his murder charge has since been dropped, according to the outlets.
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Shrewsbury’s mother, Peggy Cofield, told the court she opposed the plea agreement.
“The only thing I have of my son is his picture on the wall and his ashes on myself — I’ll never get him back,” Cofield said, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Restaurant manager Carlos Encino, who testified for the prosecution, said Shrewsbury had volunteered to cover a shift that evening and described him as “the life of a party,” the Express-News reported.
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After hearing gunshots outside, Encino said Shrewsbury stumbled back into the restaurant and collapsed.
“I flipped him over and I heard his last breath,” Encino said. “His face was blue, his lips were blue … I just don’t understand why people would play God and try to take someone’s life,” according to the Express-News.
Several members of Roberson’s family also spoke on her behalf, asking the judge for leniency and describing her as a smart and talented young woman who made a mistake, the Express-News reported.
