HOUSTON (WKRC) – A man has been charged with murder after police say he fatally shot a stranger he mistakenly believed was his daughter’s boyfriend on Christmas morning.
Jonathan Ross Mata, 39, is accused in the death of 25-year-old Desmond Butler, who was shot shortly after 1 a.m. Dec. 25 after driving into a gas station parking lot, PEOPLE reported.
Investigators said Butler was leaving the lot in a gray Honda Pilot when Mata fired at the vehicle, believing Butler was his daughter’s boyfriend. Police said Mata and Butler did not know each other.
PEOPLE reported that surveillance video shows Mata’s wife chasing the SUV and attempting to open a rear passenger door, mistakenly thinking their daughter was inside the vehicle, police said. Butler, who was struck by gunfire, crashed into a pole in a nearby parking lot…