Two young men have been cuffed and cops are on the hunt for a woman in connection to an April shooting in Houston. 19-year-old Anthony L. Merritt is looking at three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, alongside deadly conduct charges as laid out by the 185th State District Court. A teen boy, 16, whose name hasn't been dropped due to his juvenile status, has also been roped into the case, referred to the Harris County Juvenile Probation authorities on similar charges.
Merritt's mug has been plastered all over a news release, but details on the younger suspect are kept under wraps. Police are now gagging for information on Kiersten Chanel Lathan, 19, also facing her own set of charges, including assault of a family member in Harris County Criminal Court #3. Unlike her alleged partners in crime, Lathan's still out there – with her photo circulating in a bid to bring her in.
According to a news release, the drama went down on the night of April 16 at 9522 Madera Road, when shots rang out around 8:55 p.m. What started as a scuffle between a guy and his girlfriend spiraled into chaos, leaving a 40-year-old man with bullets in him and cops scratching their heads. The victim was whisked off to the hospital and luckily made it there in one piece – stable condition.
Here's how it unfurled: Officers from the Houston Police Department (HPD) caught wind of the shooting and stumbled upon a guy who dodged the bullets but saw the whole thing. His buddy wasn't so lucky. The HPD Major Assaults & Family Violence Division detectives A. Garcia and V. Gamez got the scoop, working out that two dudes with the girlfriend let off the rounds that hit the victim, who was just hanging around. Merritt was nabbed on April 24, and the 16-year-old troublemaker was scooped up the next day, each without a snag.
With Merritt and the unnamed teen in the clutches of the law, the focus is on bagging Lathan. The HPD isn't mucking around – they're blasting out the call for any hot tips on her whereabouts to dial up their Major Assaults & Family Violence Division at 713-308-8800.
