Overview
- Police say Jonathan Ross Mata, 39, opened fire after a call claiming his daughter had been assaulted, mistakenly believing the driver was her boyfriend.
- Surveillance video shows Mata’s wife chasing a gray Honda Pilot in a gas-station lot on the 9900 block of Bellaire as Mata shoots toward the vehicle.
- Desmond Butler, 25, was hit by gunfire, crashed into a pole, and later died at a hospital, according to Houston authorities.
- Court documents cited by KHOU say Mata approached the wreck, apologized, said he was looking for his “kidnapped” daughter, did not call 911, and later allegedly confessed.
- Mata turned himself in on Jan. 14, was released on a $50,000 bond, and is due in court on Feb. 25; police say he and Butler were strangers, and Butler’s family reports devastation.