Man charged with murder of Harris Co. boy, 11, shot while getting jacket from car

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Darius Dugas

A man has been charged with the murder of an 11-year-old boy who was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Harris County apartment complex while going out to his family’s car to grab a jacket.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says Daveyonne Howard, 19, has been charged in the death of 11-year-old Darius "DJ" Dugas. Authorities say Howard is in the Harris County Jail on an unrelated charge.

The deadly shooting occurred on the night of February 3 in the 12200 block of Tidwell.

Dugas went to grab his jacket from his family's car that night, and then his family heard gunshots. They rushed out to find him lying on the ground. He had been shot.

He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he passed away.

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According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the investigation revealed Howard was in another complex breaking into vehicles just before the shooting. Authorities say Howard was caught in the act of breaking into the cars and was chased to the complex on Tidwell.

According to Sheriff Gonzalez, Howard began shooting at the owner of the vehicle, who was chasing him to recover his stolen items, and shot the 11-year-old boy to death.

The sheriff says Howard has an extensive criminal history and was out on bond for Aggravated Robbery at the time of the murder.