Two Men Convicted in Murder-for-Hire Plot That Left Katy Commuter Shot on Highway 99

HOUSTON, TX – A federal jury has convicted two men for their roles in a murder-for-hire conspiracy that led to the shooting of a Katy man during his morning commute, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced.

After roughly two days of deliberations, the jury found Michael Seery, 43, of Katy, and Ricardo Obando Jr., 51, of Houston, guilty following an eight-day trial. Prosecutors said the two men planned the killing over several months and carried out the attack in the early morning hours of Feb. 4, 2025.

Evidence presented at trial showed Obando ambushed the victim as he was driving to work on Highway 99, firing multiple shots that struck the man in the neck, torso, and hand. The victim survived the shooting. Jurors heard testimony from the victim and viewed in-car camera footage capturing the moment of the attack and the subsequent 911 call.

Prosecutors said Seery hired Obando to kill a man Seery believed had an affair with his wife while Seery was incarcerated. Cell phone records and surveillance evidence showed Obando monitored the intended target and made at least one failed attempt before the shooting. Investigators later determined Seery had targeted the wrong person, as the intended target had moved from the residence Seery believed he occupied.

The jury heard testimony from Seery’s wife and the intended target, learning the affair had occurred more than a decade earlier and that Seery remained angry about it in the weeks leading up to the shooting. Investigators also recovered multiple firearms, firearm components, and a 3D printer from Seery’s home and storage unit, which prosecutors said was used to manufacture the weapon and silencer used in the attack. Evidence showed Seery paid Obando through his business to carry out the crime.

Both men were convicted of conspiracy to use interstate facilities to commit murder for hire causing bodily injury, aiding and abetting murder for hire, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and using a firearm silencer during a crime of violence. Seery was additionally convicted of transferring a firearm for use in a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm, while Obando was convicted of receiving a firearm to be used in a felony.

They each face up to life in federal prison. Sentencing will be determined by a federal judge at a later date.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Katy Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hunter Brown and Jill Stotts.