34-year-old suspect wanted in teen's road rage murder after Astros game
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police have charged a suspect after a road rage shooting killed a 17-year-old following an Astros game earlier this month.
Police said 34-year-old Gerald Wayne Williams is charged with murder in the shooting death of David Castro during a road rage incident on July 6.
As of Friday, Williams has not been arrested, and Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward leading to his arrest.
A records search by Eyewitness News showed Williams was convicted in 2008 of two counts of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, resulting in a 13-year prison sentence. He was released in last October.
Before the 2008 conviction, Williams was charged for robbery in three hold-ups of Family Dollar stores, documents state.
In a statement shortly after HPD's publicly identified the suspect, Paul Castro, David's father, applauded investigators, but acknowledged that the work isn't finished.
"Our family is thankful for Chief (Troy) Finner and his detectives who have worked tirelessly to identify this suspect," Paul said. "We ask Houston and the community to help in finding the suspect so he can be brought to justice."
Just last week, police released a new video showing the suspected gunman's vehicle in the streets of downtown Houston, in their effort to track down David Castro's killer.
SEE ALSO: 13 Investigates increase in game day crime near Astros stadium
According to police, the vehicle is 2011-2013, white, four-door Buick LaCrosse CXL premium with round fog lights and 7-spoke rims.
SEE ALSO: Dad to wanted gunman: Does hand gesture 'require you to execute' my son?
One video from police showed the suspect's vehicle downtown on Rusk and Chartres, while a second angle showed him driving through the intersection of Chartres and Commerce.
An ABC13 viewer said they ran across an online sales advertisement for a car that looked like the same one in the video.
After flagging the ad, our reporters helped that viewer turn the tip over to authorities.
ABC13 reporter Mycah Hatfield said, "It's not to any credit of Steve [Campion] or mine. It's 100% credit to viewers watching our newscasts who are engaged and who want to help reaching out with this information."
Court documents show that the tip may have led investigators to the seller who then helped lead them to Gerald Williams.
Williams matches the physical description that the 17-year-old's father gave sketch artist Lois Gibson.
"I've been doing this 39 years," Gibson said. "I'm the best person to talk to if you've been through something terrible, and Paul realized it."
Gibson was traveling when she heard the news about police identifying a suspect. She said her skill plus Paul's determination made a perfect match.
"I have witnesses that want to get justice, and Paul was gut ripped," she said. "He wanted to get this guy caught so bad. More than most people. I don't blame him."
Paul and his two sons were leaving the Astros game when they encountered the suspect on Chartres near Preston, police said.
RELATED: 17-year-old dies after being shot in the head while driving home from Astros game
The father said the driver tried to get in front of him in traffic.
"This guy, he was so close to me that he was almost chipping the paint on my truck," Paul recalled. "I kept moving forward and that's when he leaned out [of his car,] I was like, 'I've already let three people in.' That's my hand gesture. That hand gesture got my son executed and that's not fair."
The suspect followed the family onto I-10 East and took the Wayside exit along with them. Detectives said the man fired several times at the Castro family's truck as they made a U-turn under the East Freeway. He continued following them onto I-10 headed west but veered away at some point.
Paul's son, 17-year-old David, was shot in the head. The father and his other son were not injured. David died just a few days after he was put on life support following the shooting.
SEE ALSO: Father donates teenage son's organs after deadly road rage shooting
For developments on this story, follow Mycah Hatfield on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
