Kevin Dwayne Kirven, 38, a former Mart resident and convicted gang member, pleaded guilty Thursday in a Tarrant County murder case and to firing at members of a fugitive task force during a standoff in Waco in 2022. He was sentenced to two concurrent 60-year prison terms during a remote hearing involving judges and prosecutors from McLennan and Tarrant counties.
Kirven is already serving a 60-year sentence in Limestone County for the January 2022 murder of 55-year-old Willie Rhodes, a Waco convenience store clerk. Rhodes’ body was discovered wrapped in a tarp in a pond near Mexia, weighted with cinder blocks in a failed attempt to keep it submerged.
Kirven, indicted on seven counts of aggravated assault against a public servant, opened fire on officers with the U.S. Marshal’s Lone Star Fugitive Task Force when they attempted to arrest him on the Limestone County warrant. The standoff ended after 90 minutes, and Kirven later admitted he would have killed officers that day if given a "clean shot."
During the hearing, Kirven was initially uncooperative, refusing to confirm his name or answer routine questions. He later complied after explanations from Judge Roy Sparkman and his attorney.
Kirven’s prior offenses include testifying in a 2023 capital murder trial where he claimed responsibility for a 2021 double homicide in Mart for which his cousin, former Mart football player Zamar Kirven, was convicted.
With the new sentences, Kirven will need to serve at least 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.
