A man was charged with murder following a fatal shooting on Christmas Day at 6609 West Sam Houston Parkway South; the suspect, identified as 39-year-old Jonathan Ross Mata, surrendered to the Houston Police Department yesterday and is now facing charges in the 496th Criminal District Court, with the victim named as 25-year-old Desmond Butler.
According to the City of Houston News release, the incident began when Butler entered a gas station parking lot, unwittingly passing Mata's black GMC vehicle; Mata's wife attempted to enter Butler's Honda Pilot, believing their daughter was inside, and Mata fired shots as the car drove away which led to Butler being struck by gunfire and subsequently crashing into a nearby pole.
Official reports from the Houston Police Department's Homicide Division state that Mata and Butler didn't previously know each other, with the shooting stemming from a tragic misunderstanding—Mata had received a distressing call from his daughter claiming she had been assaulted by her boyfriend, propelling him and his wife to the site in anticipation of her arrival.
Mata turned himself in without any further incident yesterday and was taken into custody at the Harris County Jail. The victim, Desmond Butler, was taken to a local hospital after the shooting, but unfortunately, was later pronounced dead; the investigation remains ongoing with Houston PD still piecing together the events that led up to the tragic encounter, as per City of Houston News.
