The first defendant convicted in the ’21 ambush killing of Wharton’s Shane Singleton in El Campo is now challenging his life sentence. Brandon Rene James, who was 17 when prosecutors say he pulled the trigger, is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to hear his case after a lower court upheld his conviction in August. His attorney argues evidence tied to drug activity was wrongly kept from the jury, while prosecutors say the ambush was a planned robbery ruse with no relevance to drugs. James will be eligible for parole in 2061.