A judge has denied bail to Demetri O’Neal Thomas, a 45-year-old man accused of shooting at passing vehicles in northeast Houston before he was wounded by police and a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper.
Thomas appeared in court on Friday, September 4, facing seven felony charges: four counts of aggravated assault against a public servant and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is due to return for arraignment on October 8.
North Wayside shooting
The charges relate to an incident on August 14 in the 6200 block of North Wayside Drive, near St Louis Street. Houston police said they received multiple 911 calls reporting a man with a rifle firing at vehicles.
Three people were injured by gunfire, according to police. Two were taken to hospital and all three were later reported to be in a stable condition.
Officers found Thomas on the porch of a property on St Louis Street, armed with a rifle, police said. He allegedly refused repeated orders to put the weapon down before raising it towards officers.
Houston police officers J Avila, J Luna and J Avery, along with a DPS trooper, opened fire and struck Thomas several times. No officers were injured. Thomas was given first aid at the scene before being taken to hospital in a critical condition.
The Houston Police Department said the incident is being investigated by its Homicide Division’s Special Investigations Unit and Internal Affairs Division, alongside the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Bail arguments
During Friday’s hearing, Officer Avila, the first officer to fire, described what he saw when he arrived. He said Thomas was wearing see-through fishnet clothing and underwear and was speaking, although his words could not be understood.
Defence lawyer Sylvia Escobedo argued that Thomas had not been in a rational state of mind during the incident and was suffering from serious medical conditions. She also raised concerns about whether the Harris County Jail could provide the care he required.
Prosecutors argued that Thomas posed an immediate danger to the public and asked the court to keep him in custody without bail. They referred to his previous conviction for aggravated robbery and kidnapping, for which he served nine years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice before his release in 2020.
The judge sided with the prosecution and denied bail. Thomas remains accused of the offences and has not entered a plea.
