A man has been taken into custody and charged with the deaths of two individuals following a shooting incident on Franklin Street earlier this month. The Houston Police Department reported that Bruce Butler, 37, is facing capital murder charges for the killing of Richard Nugent, 38, and RJ Lewis, 66, on the evening of June 2. The arrest and charges were confirmed on the official City of Houston news website.
Officers discovered the first victim, Mr. Nugent, unresponsive with gunshot injuries near the Buffalo Bayou Trail. The second victim, Ms. Lewis, was found on a stairwell connecting to the intersection of Congress and Smith Streets. Both were declared deceased at the scene by the Houston Fire Department paramedics. Initially, the HPD had neither a motive nor a suspect description, which left the early stages of the investigation particularly challenging.
It wasn't until a surveillance photo of a person of interest was released to the public on June 20 that the case saw a significant development. A tip from the community prompted detectives to identify Butler as the man in the photo. HPD Homicide Division detectives M. Althaus and E. Camacho were part of the team that pieced together the evidence leading to the suspect's apprehension.
Butler was taken into custody on June 24 and, according to the police, he confessed to his involvement in the shootings. He has since been charged and booked into the Harris County Joint Processing Center. The details of the arrest were outlined on the aforementioned City of Houston news site, further providing transparency and updates on the case to the public.
