HOUSTON – A man is charged with murder and aggravated assault in the shooting death of a woman at an apartment complex in northwest Houston, authorities said. The shooting was reported at 11:50 p.m. on Friday on the 5500 block of Holly View Drive.
Kendrick Akins, 39, who was initially a person of interest in the case, surrendered to officers at the HPD Northeast Police Station on Saturday afternoon. He was questioned by detectives and subsequently charged in the shooting, according to authorities.
Akins, who is on parole until March 2020, asked to be placed in protective custody, according to court documents. He said his fiancé has brothers in jail, and there have been posts that once in jail, they will attack him. The judge set his bond at $150,000 for the murder charge and $75,000 for the aggravated assault charge, per court documents.
According to court documents, Akins and the victim, identified as Dominic Jefferson, got into an argument Friday. A witness said during the argument, Akins grabbed the woman’s cell phone and threw it against a hard surface, making the phone inoperable.
The witness said she and Jefferson were headed to pick someone up from work, but the car wouldn’t start, according to the court documents.
Akins went outside and yelled: "Don't touch my car," per the court documents.
The witness attempted to fix the car's battery to get the car up and running, per the documents. But, the witness said Akins continued to yell.
Then, the witness said Akins reached for a firearm, and Jefferson said, “Go ahead, shoot me.”
The witness said from about 5 feet away, Akins pointed the gun at the woman’s chest and fired once before returning to his apartment, according to the documents.
Another witness, who lives in a neighboring apartment complex, said he heard the argument and then the shooting while sitting on a back deck, per the court documents. He said he ran out of his apartment, down the stairs and jumped a fence to check on the victim.
The second witness asked the first witness what happened, according to the court documents. That is when Akins reappeared and started screaming at the second witness.
Akins reportedly shot at the second witness, who said he dove into some bushes and played dead, hoping that the shooter would flee. The second witness said he was unaware of which direction the shooter took off in or if it was on foot, per court documents.
The first witness said after Akin shot at the second witness, he went over to the victim, who was motionless in the parking lot, grabbed her cell phone and ran away, according to the court documents.
Responding officers found a woman dead at the scene with a shot to the chest.
Authorities said the witness was not injured.