Two Houston-area men convicted in Grand Parkway murder-for-hire plot that seriously injured an unintended victim

Federal jury returns guilty verdicts after eight-day trial

Two Houston-area men have been convicted in federal court for their roles in a murder-for-hire conspiracy tied to a Feb. 4, 2025, shooting on the SH-99 Grand Parkway near Mason Road, a case that prosecutors said left an innocent driver seriously injured after being mistaken for the intended target.

A jury found Michael Seery, 43, of Katy, and Ricardo Obando Jr., 51, of Houston, guilty on multiple felony counts, including conspiracy to use interstate facilities to commit murder for hire causing bodily injury and aiding and abetting related offenses. The verdicts followed roughly two hours of deliberations after an eight-day trial.

What investigators say happened on Feb. 4, 2025

The case centers on an early-morning attack in which a man driving a company vehicle was shot multiple times while traveling northbound on the Grand Parkway. Authorities said the shooting prompted a major roadway response and that the victim was transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition. He survived, though the injuries were described as severe.

Investigators treated the incident as more than a spontaneous confrontation. As the case developed, authorities alleged the victim had been followed and that the attack was planned rather than an act of road rage.

Charges and key elements of the convictions

Federal prosecutors alleged the conspiracy involved coordination, surveillance and the use of firearms equipped with a suppressor. The jury convicted Seery and Obando of offenses that included the use of interstate facilities in a murder-for-hire scheme resulting in bodily injury, as well as firearms-related crimes tied to the shooting.

Seery was also convicted of transferring a firearm for use in a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Obando was additionally convicted of receiving a firearm intended for use in a felony.

• Convicted: Michael Seery (Katy) and Ricardo Obando Jr. (Houston)
• Core allegation: a paid plot to kill a target that instead seriously wounded another driver
• Firearms counts: included allegations involving a suppressor and a gun discharge during a crime of violence

Parallel proceedings and what remains unresolved

The case has had both federal and state components. Obando and another defendant, Matthew Rosas, 24, had faced state charges tied to the same shooting. Federal filings in 2025 described a broader conspiracy and outlined potential penalties that, for certain counts, can include lengthy mandatory minimum sentences and the possibility of life imprisonment.

Sentencing dates and final prison terms for the convicted men were not included in the verdict announcement. The identity of the person alleged to have arranged or financed the killing was not established in publicly released summaries of the case, and the motive described in court records has not been fully detailed in the public record.

An indictment is a formal accusation and does not itself prove guilt; the convictions in this case were returned by a jury after trial.

The investigation involved multiple agencies, including federal and local law enforcement, reflecting the case’s overlap between street-level violence and alleged organized planning consistent with murder-for-hire prosecutions.