Court filings and jail records show that two men are now in custody in connection with a Jan. 18 shooting inside Headquarters Taphouse in El Paso’s Five Points neighborhood, an early-morning gunfire scare that wounded a bouncer and a patron and sent bar-goers sprinting into the street. Investigators reported finding a single spent casing at the scene, and say witnesses later provided the identifying details that helped move the case forward, according to the documents.
Arrests and charges
According to the El Paso Times reporting, Donovan Latrell Berry was arrested in Buffalo on March 3 by the U.S. Marshals Service, then extradited to El Paso, where he was booked into the county jail on March 18. Court records state that Berry is being held on a $250,000 bond on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and an unlawful carrying charge.
The filings also show that Tyshawn Joseph was arrested Jan. 23 and is being held on a combined bond of $100,000. He faces an aggravated-assault charge, an unlawful-carrying charge, and a separate warrant for domestic assault, according to court documents. Records indicate both men are represented by public defenders as their cases advance through the courts.
A previous killing at the same address
Headquarters Taphouse has seen deadly violence before. Court documents recount a Dec. 5, 2021, parking-lot shooting outside the bar that left Joshua Dewayne Barnes dead and later resulted in a murder conviction. In that earlier case, Alfred Lawrence Gay Jr. pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and received a 30-year prison sentence.
Records from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice show Gay is currently housed at the Roach Unit in Childress and is not eligible for parole until at least 2036, according to the state’s online offender database.
How investigators say the fight began
The affidavit lays out a chaotic chain of events that started, investigators say, as a birthday celebration gone wrong. An ex-boyfriend allegedly showed up at a woman’s party inside the bar, a fight broke out, and the confrontation escalated into gunfire shortly after 1:23 a.m., according to the filing.
Witness statements and surveillance footage guided investigators as they searched the scene, where they documented one shell casing. Multiple witnesses later picked out a suspect during a photo lineup, the report notes. The gunfire struck a bouncer in the back and a customer in the left hip. The El Paso Times reviewed the court filings and jail booking logs that outline the investigative timeline and the charges now pending against Berry and Joseph.
Legal next steps
Both men remain behind bars while prosecutors and defense attorneys prepare for the next round of pretrial motions and scheduling hearings. The aggravated assault with a deadly weapon carries the possibility of prison time if convictions are secured, although any eventual sentence will depend on plea negotiations and the outcomes of future court proceedings.
Defense lawyers listed in the records had not responded to requests for comment at the time the filings were reviewed, and authorities state that the investigation is still active.
Community questions remain
The latest arrests have reignited unease among patrons and nearby residents about security along the Five Points strip, where two highly visible shootings in recent years have kept safety concerns in the conversation. Prosecutors will decide whether to seek indictments on the current allegations as investigators continue gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses.
Court files and booking logs reviewed for this story indicate that the case remains open and is working its way through the local criminal justice system.
