'She didn't ask for this' Bun B recalls terror wife faced at hands of armed robber in home invasion

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston rapper and philanthropist Bun B spoke for the first time Thursday from the witness stand about what happened to him and his wife, Queenie, during a home invasion in April 2019.

It's taken five years for the trial to get to this point, and it was clear that Bun B was ready to testify. He explained to the court how that violent, attempted robbery "still affects our life."

Bun B, whose real name is Bernard Freeman, testified for 20 minutes during robber Demonte Jackson's sentencing hearing.

Jackson, who was 20 years old at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery.

ORIGINAL STORY: Rapper Bun B shoots intruder at his southwest Houston home

During his testimony, Bun B recalled the home invasion that occurred on a Tuesday afternoon five years ago, noting that Queenie had dealt with anxiety before and had just finished therapy when the home invasion happened.

That day, Jackson rang the doorbell at Bun B's home, and Queenie answered, thinking it was an Amazon delivery person. That's when Jackson, who was wearing a mask, forced his way into their home.

Bun B was on the second floor of their home at the time and heard his wife screaming, "Just take the car! Just take the car!"

Jackson also held a gun to her head.

Bun B said Thursday he'd never heard that kind of terror in his wife's voice in the 20-plus years that they've been married.

"This was an entirely new traumatizing incident," Bun B said. "This is something we still deal with to this day."

"There are times when she gets closed off. She can't communicate, and I just get so angry all over again because she didn't deserve this. She didn't ask for this," he continued, getting visibly emotional.

Bun B said that as he heard his wife's screams, he grabbed his gun and she told him, "Don't come downstairs. He's going to kill me."

"I wanted to confront the person who put that fear in my wife's voice," the rapper said.

"She was very panicked. She was borderline hysterical. She just did not want me to go out that door and face the person with the gun," Bun B added.

Bun B testified that Jackson had gone into their garage by then. When Bun B saw Jackson in the driver seat of his wife's car, he fired at him five to six times, a bullet striking him in the shoulder.

Jackson fired back, fell out of the car, and both men fought on the ground.

"My wife came through the garage door. She started screaming when she saw that we were on the ground, tussling. He kind of broke away from me and took off running," Bun B recalled.

Bun B caught up to him, saying that he made Jackson take off his mask and pull up his shirt to show his tattoos.

"I wanted to know who that was behind the mask," Bun B said, explaining that he meets a lot of people because of the industry he's in. "I wanted to know if this was someone I knew personally or someone that knew someone I knew personally."

"Just the idea of seeing my wife in this state, I wanted to know who had done this to her," he continued.

Jackson was later found wounded at a hospital.

The next morning, Bun B described how his wife broke down in the kitchen. It was so bad, he said, she left the house and never came back.

He explained that she had to be blindfolded just to pack basic items because seeing the stairs and where Jackson entered was triggering.

"She was broken. She was absolutely broken," the rapper said. "My wife never stepped foot in that house again."

Bun B emphasized the effect of the home invasion continued to traumatize his wife during the COVID-19 pandemic, including whenever she saw strangers who looked similar to Jackson.

"This happened to her from a Black man with a mask on and dreadlocks," he said. "She didn't want to feel that against all Black men. Only one Black man had done this to her, but it was the signs constantly triggering her, retraumatizing her over and over again."

The case has taken five years to get to this point because, according to Jackson's attorney, he's suffered from mental health issues.

"We wanted to make sure he was completely competent before the hearing took place," defense attorney Letitia Quinones said, adding her client needs mental health help, not prison time.

In court Thursday, the defense didn't ask Bun B any questions, and Jackson had no reaction.

Queenie was among the witnesses expected to speak.

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