HOUSTON – An Uber driver has been arrested in the June death of Houston pastor Rev. Ronald K. Mouton Sr. of East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church.
Mouton was shot and killed during a possible road rage incident on the Gulf Freeway at Gould Road on June 24.
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According to the Harris County District Clerk’s Office, Deshawn Longmire, 23, has been charged with murder and is currently being held in Harris County Jail.
Documents outline details of the deadly shooting.
Witnesses said they saw Longmire, who was driving for Uber in his black Honda sedan with peeled window tint, arguing with Mouton, who was driving a white BMW, at a stoplight on the Gulf Freeway frontage road. Neither driver exited the vehicle at the time of the argument, investigators said.
Witnesses told police that, when both vehicles started moving, Longmire “stretched his arm out of the driver window with a pistol in his hand” and allegedly shot Mouton. Longmire then took off.
Surveillance video from Pusch and Nguyen Injury Lawyers showed Pastor Mouton crashing his vehicle at a curb. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Further investigation revealed that Longmire was a person of interest in connection to Mouton’s death, and records from his Uber account showed that he was in the area at the time of the shooting, according to documents.
Longmire is currently in jail on a $500,000 bond.
The Mouton family released the following statement via Bishop James Dixon on Saturday:
“We are grateful for all the love and concern the community continues to express. The horrific loss of our beloved, Rev. Dr. Ronald Mouton, Sr. is painful beyond words. We are still grief-stricken over this senseless tragedy. We want the man who took his life to understand the seriousness of his crime. He took the life of a husband, a father. Our confidence and hope is in the proficient work the of police. We also hope the work of the entire criminal justice system is done thoroughly and that justice is duly served. We understand the public interest in this case, but we are not ready to speak publicly. We have authorized our trusted family friend, Bishop James Dixon, to interact with media on our family’s behalf. Thank you for respecting our need for privacy as we seek to heal from this traumatizing circumstance.”