Woman at center of deadly River Oaks shooting tied to family who owns San Antonio Spurs
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin has confirmed he is representing Ashley Sikes, the woman at the center of a shooting that left a man dead in River Oaks last week.
The shooting happened on Wednesday, June 23, around 11:30 p.m.
Wesley Jermaine Gobert was shot inside the home in the 1900 block of Larchmont. He stumbled out of the house and died at a nearby hospital.
"It was absolutely self-defense," DeGuerin said during a phone call with Eyewitness News from Los Angeles on Wednesday. He is currently representing Robert Durst in a murder trial.
DeGuerin said there were at least a housekeeper and a child inside the home at the time of the shooting as well as additional video to corroborate his client's side of the story.
On Monday, ABC13 aired portions of an exclusive surveillance video of the incident. It showed Gobert coming in and out of the home quickly. A few minutes later, clearly injured, he crawled outside and collapsed.
Records show Sikes has lived in the home for about a decade, having moved to Houston from San Antonio, where her extended family is very prominent.
Public records show Sikes' mother is Julianna Holt, who was the Chairwoman of the San Antonio Spurs from 2016-2019. Her son, Peter J. Holt, who is the current Chairman of the Spurs organization, then succeeded Julianna.
The Holt family is also well known in business circles. They own Holt Cat, the largest Caterpillar dealership in the U.S.
Neither the Spurs organization nor Holt Cat would comment on the incident in Houston.
DeGuerin said his job is to guide his client through the investigation. He is confident that when the case is presented in front of a Harris County grand jury that no indictments will occur.
The family and friends of Gobert feel very differently.
Speaking exclusively to ABC13 on Monday, childhood friend Christopher Wiggins urged Houston police to conduct a full investigation.
"Clearly this wasn't some Black guy who just came up and stayed there," said Wiggins. "This was somebody who actually lived there, who's actually in a relationship with this young lady."
Houston police had no additional comment on the investigation as it is ongoing.
For more updates on this story, follow ABC13 reporter Miya Shay on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
