Family of slain Club Onyx security guard plead suspect to turn himself in: 'What made you so angry?'

Mycah Hatfield Image
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Family says they feel robbed of loved one killed at work
Plans for the future snuffed out in an act of violence while on the job. Only ABC13 obtained new surveillance images of people of interest in connection with a nightclub shooting that left a security guard dead.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As a family mourns the loss of their loved one, homicide detectives are releasing photos of the suspect in hopes that someone will identify the alleged killer.



On the morning of Sept. 14, DeLaunte Maxie, 32, who was working as a security guard at Club Onyx in the 3100 block of Bering when he was shot and killed.



Police said the suspect got into a confrontation with a security guard at the club and brandished a weapon before leaving in a Jeep Track Hawk. Moments later, police said the suspect returned to the club, and as Maxie approached the SUV he was shot.



Maxie was rushed to a hospital, where he died.



"I was woken up at 5:11 a.m. by my dad, and he told me that my brother had been shot," Verna Hall said. "I jumped up, and before I could move again he said he didn't make it. I just started screaming."



The loss has been tremendous for Maxie's family. His sisters said it has been especially tough to understand because they said he kept to himself.



SEE ALSO: Houston police release photos of men sought after security guard killed outside Onyx strip club



"What made you so angry?" Hall asked. "You could have just left, like you did. You could have just kept going."



Maxie had followed in his father's footsteps and worked in security for more than 10 years. His sisters said he was working to open his own security company. He wanted to save money while he was young so he could retire early and spend time with his family.



"That guy just took it from us," Hall said.



Maxie was a father of four girls. His 15-year-old daughter, Daelyn Maxie, said it is tough knowing her father was alone in his last moments.



Police have gathered surveillance video that they believe shows the man who killed him and the woman he was with that night. She is not considered a suspect, but detectives want to speak with both of them.



According to detectives, the suspect is described as a Black man, about 5 feet and 10 inches, 230 pounds, with long, two-toned dreadlocks. He was wearing a black sweater and orange shorts.



"It's not about him," Maxie's daughter said. "It's about my dad. It's not, 'I want something bad to happen to him.' That doesn't bring my dad back. I want my dad back. Knowing that I can't have him back and knowing he's not here that hurts so much."



Maxie's family is pleading with the killer and his family to turn him in.



"I know that he feels guilty," Denae Myers, Maxie's youngest sister, said. "I know that he feels shame and maybe, even, regret. I know he feels something and that's why he's hiding. Why he hasn't turned himself in, because he doesn't want to talk accountability."



A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family navigate through the loss.



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