It’s not the first time U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has been accused of spreading blatant misinformation online. Credit: Shutterstock / Maxim Elramsisy

State District Judge Jennifer Peña on Tuesday sentenced a San Antonio Uber driver to 30 years in prison on charges that he shot and killed U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s one-time barber, the Express-News reports.

Ladie Gene Lee II, 43, was sentenced this week after pleading no contest to the allegations in March, according to the daily.

Prosecutors allege Lee shot and killed San Antonio barber Shelton Fersner, 48, at the Vista Del Rey apartments in 2022. Lee, who turned himself in to the Leon Valley police months after the murder, said he killed the man because he’d thrown pebbles at him, the Express-News reports.

Before moving to the Alamo City in 2020, Fersner was a barber at the U.S. House of Representatives, and reportedly cut the hair of Cruz, a Texas Republican, according to the Washington Post.

Indeed, Fersner owned a signed photo of himself cutting Cruz’s hair, the Post reports. “A man’s barber is a source of wisdom,” the senator reportedly signed.

Fersner was admitted into San Antonio’s Culinary Institute of America prior his death, according to his obituary.

“The court’s decision stresses the importance of holding individuals accountable for their actions, which is crucial in the sentencing process,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said in a statement on Lee’s sentencing. “Although nothing can replace the life lost, it shines a light on our commitment to uphold the sanctity of life and confront violence.”

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This article appears in May 14-27, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...