A 17-year-old has been charged with capital murder in the shooting death of 19-year-old Jose Acosta, who was robbed at gunpoint and shot on Corder Street near Springhill Street earlier this month before dying at a hospital the following day. Crishaad Adams was arrested last Friday, nearly three weeks after the shooting, and the Houston Police Department says its investigation into the case continues.
According to FOX 26 Houston, police say three male suspects robbed Acosta and his 15-year-old brother at gunpoint before opening fire on their vehicle as Acosta tried to drive away. Acosta was struck and later died from his injuries; his brother was not injured in the shooting, police say. Detectives K. Stringer and E. Torres II of HPD's Homicide Division led the investigation, which was tracked under HPD incident case number 098291326, according to the City of Houston Newsroom.
Adams was formally charged with capital murder in Harris County's 487th Criminal District Court following his arrest, per the same city release. It remains unclear what specific evidence led investigators to identify Adams as a suspect, and whether the two other men allegedly involved in the robbery have been identified or arrested has not been disclosed.
Shooting Left Victim's Vehicle in a Ditch
Responding officers arrived around 7:45 p.m. on August 3 to find Acosta suffering from a gunshot wound inside a gray Honda Civic that had crashed into a ditch at Tierwester Street and Corder Street, according to KPRC Click2Houston. Acosta was taken to a hospital, where he died the day after the shooting.
Under Texas law, a killing committed intentionally during the commission or attempted commission of a robbery qualifies as capital murder, a capital felony, per Section 19.03(a)(2) of the Texas Penal Code. Because Adams is 17, Texas law automatically places him in the adult criminal justice system, though federal constitutional standards bar offenders under 18 from receiving mandatory life without parole or the death penalty, according to legal analysis from Varghese Summersett.
A Corridor With a Troubled Recent History
The 3500 block of Corder Street sits adjacent to Zollie Scales Park, a 4.8-acre municipal park at 3501 Corder Street with a basketball pavilion, playground, and sports fields, according to the Houston Parks Board. The stretch has seen repeated violence in recent months: two teens shot over a marijuana deal at the park's basketball court in February, and in March, a man wounded in the 3900 block of Corder Street was rushed by private vehicle to nearby Houston Fire Department Station 46.
The Corder Street killing arrives even as Houston has posted a sharp citywide decline in homicides. The city recorded 95 homicides in the first half of 2026, down from 154 during the same period in 2025 — a 38% drop, according to Major Cities Chiefs Association survey data cited by Axios. Mid-year data also shows homicides, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults have all fallen below pre-pandemic levels in Houston and other major U.S. cities, per the Houston Chronicle's analysis of the same survey.
Even so, localized clusters of gun violence have persisted around public spaces like Zollie Scales Park, underscoring that a citywide drop in crime hasn't erased pockets of danger on individual blocks. HPD's investigation into Acosta's death remains active, and anyone with information is asked to call the department's Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
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