A man has been arrested and charged in connection to a shooting that left a woman dead at a Houston intersection earlier this month, authorities said.
Wydell Dupree Jones, 57, was charged with murder and drug possession after being taken into custody without incident on Tuesday, January 30. In a brutal twist to the case, the violent episode that cost Maria Ramirez, 59, her life occurred at approximately 1:40 a.m. on January 20 at the intersection of West Gulf Bank Road and North Houston-Rosslyn Road. According to an update from the City of Houston, Jones faces murder charges in the 488th State District Court and a possession of a controlled substance charge in the 174th State District Court.
Sergeant A. Dudley and Detective K. Heaverlo from the HPD Homicide Division reported that Ramirez and a passenger were sitting in a vehicle when the shot was fired from another vehicle described as a silver Ford F-150 pickup truck. Ramirez was struck, and the impact caused her car to roll through the intersection, over a curb, and into a nearby parking lot where it collided with a dumpster. Her companion, a 55-year-old woman, was unharmed during the incident.
Concerned bystanders who witnessed the aftermath rushed to provide aid to the victims and were intrinsic in ensuring authorities were alerted. The Houston Police Department officers and paramedics from the Houston Fire Department responded but pronounced Ramirez dead at the scene. Originally, the suspect's description was not available, but further investigation allowed HPD to quickly identify Jones as their suspect. Jones' was apprehended by the HPD North Patrol Division Crime Suppression Unit and later questioned by detectives before being transported to the Harris County Jail, where he was formally charged.
