Houston murder suspect claims self-defense, but victim seen trying to break up fight, filing states
Gregory Shead, 24, lost his life while on an outing with family members on Aug. 14, 2022.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The man accused of shooting a former Houston-area high school basketball star to death claimed the victim was going to "shoot up the place" when a fight happened in a bowling alley parking lot, court documents read.
Despite the claim, however, witnesses told police that 24-year-old Gregory Shead, who died early Sunday morning at Bowlero on Bunker Hill Road, wasn't holding a firearm at the time and was actually trying to break up the fight.
The details are part of Dionate Desmond Banks' charging document. The 29-year-old is charged with capital murder for Shead's death but is not in custody as of Friday.
ORGINAL STORY: Man killed outside bowling alley on Bunker Hill
Eyewitness News reported on Thursday some of the details from the court filings that took place outside of the west Houston business where Shead, his girlfriend, mother, and aunt were gathered.
An Instagram post from a person claiming to be Banks stated that he was defending a woman who was being beaten by a man that night, ABC13 reported from an excerpt out of the charging document.
The Instagram post said there was no intention of taking anyone's life and also includes a picture of an HPD visitor's badge with Banks' information on it from Tuesday. That Instagram account has since been deleted.
From the full court filing, police contacted Banks after the shooting when he told investigators that he was "in the right" when he opened fire at Shead because he was defending a woman in the fight.
In an interview with police on Tuesday with his attorney present, Banks again claimed defense of the woman involved in the fight as well as for himself based on what he said Shead screamed out. However, court documents state Banks said he didn't see a gun or weapon in Shead's hand but did see he had something in his hand and didn't know what it was.
When Shead's mother, Medisha Bush, spoke to Eyewitness News on Thursday, she acknowledged the Instagram post and insisted her son was not hitting anybody.
The full court filing states Shead was also coming in defense of a family member, his aunt, who was hit by the same woman whom Banks claimed to be protecting. This was corroborated by multiple witnesses, including one who recorded the scuffle. That video was shown to police, who described Shead as trying to break up the scuffle at the start before he runs up to his aunt as she's being hit.
The video also captured Shead throwing a punch, but an obstructed view doesn't identify whom he was hitting. It was at this point that Banks seemingly pulled the trigger twice on Shead, hitting him in the back and face, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
What Banks' charging document doesn't make clear is why the fight started.
RELATED: Former Houston-area basketball standout remembered as 24-year-old shot outside bowling alley
Shead, who is being remembered as an Atascocita High School hoops standout, will be laid to rest on Saturday.
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