Suspect arrested, charged with murder of man in SW Houston on Christmas Day, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The suspect involved in a fatal shooting that happened on Christmas Day in southwest Houston has been arrested and charged, according to the Houston Police Department.

HPD said that 39-year-old Jonathon Ross has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting death of Desmond Butler, 25, at 6609 West Sam Houston Parkway South (Beltway 8) at around 1:05 a.m. on Dec. 25.

According to HPD, Butler drove his gray Honda Pilot into a gas station parking lot in the 9900 block of Bellaire. Officials said that as Butler drove into the parking lot and pulled in, he passed Mata's black GMC, which was parked at one of the pumps. As Butler drove past the Acadia, a Hispanic woman got out of the GMC and began chasing Butler's vehicle and tried to open the back passenger door of the Honda, police said. Furthermore, officials said that a Hispanic man got out of the GMC and fired his gun at Butler's car as it exited the parking lot.

Law enforcement said that Butler tried to drive north on the feeder road of the West Sam Houston Parkway when he was hit by gunfire and crashed his car into a pole in an adjacent parking lot. According to authorities, the suspects got back into their vehicle and headed northbound on the feeder road.

Investigators said that Mata and his wife received a phone call from their daughter stating that she was allegedly assaulted by her boyfriend. Mata and his wife then drove to the location expecting their daughter to be dropped off, law enforcement said. The parents believed that the victim's female passenger was their daughter, officials added. However, police said that Mata and Butler did not know each other.

Mata turned himself in on Jan. 14, and he was later booked into the Harris County Jail, officials added.