Capital murder charge filed in Jazmine Barnes killing

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Detectives-interviewing-person-of-interest-in-13511609.php

Capital murder charge filed in Jazmine Barnes killing
By Nicole Hensley and Keri Blakinger
Updated 8:46 am CST, Sunday, January 6, 2019

A 20-year-old who allegedly confessed to his role as the getaway driver was charged with capital murder in connection to the death of Jazmine Barnes, the 7-year-old fatally shot in a December drive-by near a northeast Houston Walmart.

Eric Black Jr. was arrested Saturday after deputies pulled him over for not using a turn signal, then found marijuana on him and realized he was also the suspect in a murder.

After authorities took him in for questioning, Black allegedly said the slaying was a mistake, and the family was never the intended target.

Though prosecutors identified the suspected shooter during Black's court appearance, the gunman had not been charged as of early Sunday.

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As investigators probed the slaying, the emailer reached out to the sheriff to tell him the shooter's identity.

Despite the initial description widely circulated for nearly a week, the tipster said gunman was a black man, and that he was the passenger in a car driven by another black man. The emailer didn't offer the alleged driver's full name, but instead directed investigators to an Instagram account that authorities used to figure out his real name: Eric Black.

Even once they had suspects identified, investigators didn't get either of the men into custody until Saturday, when deputies at Woodforest and Beltway 8 pulled over a gray Kia for failing to use a turn signal during a lane change.

While searching the car, deputies allegedly discovered pot in the glovebox and on the driver. When they realized the man was a murder suspect, deputies called out investigators. Black waived his right to remain silent, and told authorities what happened the morning of the killing.

He'd been driving the vehicle - a rented, dark-colored Kia and not a red pick-up - with another man in the passenger seat when they spotted a car they thought they recognized from earlier in the night.

The passenger opened fire out the window as the pair drove by, Black allegedly told authorities.
They didn't realize they'd targeted the wrong people until they saw it on the news, prosecutors said in court Sunday.

After his confession, Black identified the alleged shooter from a booking photo, and told investigators where to find the murder weapon - a 9mm pistol - at his house.

Because the victim was under 10, prosecutors were able to ask for a charge of capital murder. Even though it appears Black wasn't the shooter, he can be held just as culpable as the actual gunman under a controversial Texas law that holds accomplices equally responsible for slayings.

The other suspect in the slaying could be charged as well, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said in a statement released just after midnight Sunday. They scheduled a 2 p.m. press conference.