HOUSTON – The family of Darius Dugas, an 11-year-old boy whose innocent life was lost due to gun violence, is suing the owners and property management team of the apartments where the deadly shooting occurred. The family, and multiple residents of the complex, said they complained numerous times about the suspect to the onsite office staff, but nothing was done. One of the concerns was voiced just a few hours before the child was killed.
Darius, affectionately called “DJ” by his loved ones, was a bright child known for his beautiful smile. On Feb. 3, he was allegedly shot by a man known to “wreak havoc” in the complex, according to documents.
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The case was filed on Feb. 10 against The Vireo Apartments LP, which owns the property “The Vireo Apartments” located at 12212 Tidwell Road. The apartments were managed by Kittle Property Group, Inc.
According to the lawsuit filed in the courts, little DJ and his family had just returned home from an outing and was looking forward to snuggling and drinking hot chocolate that evening. Inclement weather was expected and the boy realized he had left his coat in the car. As he walked downstairs from their third-floor unit to grab it, bullets rang out, and a witness testified hearing the boy yell out “Mama” twice.
His mother, 18-year-old brother, sister and aunt ran downstairs to find him lying in a pool of blood. His big brother and aunt immediately began performing CPR until paramedics arrived. DJ was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The lawsuit states, “the bullet struck DJ in his side, traveled through his body, and pierced his young heart.”
Police began an immediate investigation, searching for the gunman.
Daveyonne Howard, aka “Tookie,” was later identified as the suspect.
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, on that evening, Howard was caught in the act of breaking into a car and was being chased by the car owner. Howard began shooting at the man who was attempting to recover his stolen property, and DJ was struck.
Howard, who has an extensive criminal history, was out on bond for aggravated robbery at that time.
Many say it was not a surprise to learn that Howard was the alleged shooter, as he was a known troublemaker, who was constantly assaulting and/or violating others in the complex. His actions were reported over and over to the apartment staff, yet they did absolutely nothing about it, according to the lawsuit.
According to records, Howard was an unauthorized tenant living on the property since April 2021. He shared the unit with his two children and girlfriend, who was on subsidized housing. For tenants utilizing public assistance, a criminal background check is required. Not only did the apartment staff allow him to reside on the property, multiple witnesses reported seeing Howard openly carrying a firearm while wearing an ankle bracelet monitor.
The lawsuit states management was aware of “his dangerous criminal conduct at the premises, but failed to take reasonable measures to evict him, obtain a no-trespass order against him, or engage in other efforts to “eliminate the foreseeable risk that Mr. Howard posed to invitees at the Vireo Apartments.”
Several office staff admitted during depositions that they witnessed him with the weapon while walking around the property, but never reported him to police.
The lawsuit further states that, prior to DJ’s death, the office staff was aware that Howard had engaged in multiple acts of violent criminal conduct against residents and others at the premises, including committing aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and engaging in a shootout with another resident. Tenants also reported that Howard allegedly smoked weed while walking around the complex, stole packages from other tenants’ doorsteps and also assaulted a woman who had two children with her.
There was also no functioning equipment or personnel in place to safeguard the tenants from other potential violence, records show.
The lawsuit states that, in the years preceding the boy’s deadly shooting, the property management company has managed numerous residential properties, including apartment complexes, and that they have engaged in a practice of attempting to maximize profits by consistently refusing to provide proper security to the residents. The lawsuit claims that the company received a tax credit of over $1,600,000 but did not spend a cent of the money on security guards or security cameras.
At the time of DJ’s death, the drive through entry gate was wide open and not monitored, the walk-in entry gates were propped open, there were no security guards or courtesy officers on the premises, the parking lot was dimly lit, and there were no exterior security cameras.
A deposition outlines the tough questions the family’s attorney asked several office staff members, including the management and support team, in addition to more than a dozen other witnesses and residents who all echoed the same thing: “Tookie” was a known problem and everyone in charge knew about it.
“It’s one of the saddest things I, as a lawyer, has ever seen in my life and the whole situation is just very, very sad,” said attorney Taft L. Foley, of the Foley Law Firm, as he got tough, digging into the people he feels could have prevented D.J.’s death.
One by one, Taft grilled the management and its staff on what they knew, did not do and whether they felt responsible for anything that happened on the day of the child’s murder.
KPRC 2 will not note the individual defendants’ names, only pulling a collection of excerpts from the various testimonies. KPRC 2 also notes that we are only outlining the case presented in the documents, and do not have any opinion on innocence, guilt or liability of any party involved.
Excerpt #1
Foley: So let’s recap. You think it’s possible that if the Vireo Apartments would have hired security after you learned Tookie was holding people at gunpoint on the property, that he may not have killed Darius Dugas, Jr.?
Defendant : That is possible, yes.
Foley: Okay. Do you think it’s possible that if after learning about Tookie carrying a gun on the property, that if y’all would have hired someone to install security cameras, that may have prevented the death of Darius Dugas, Jr.?
Defendant: It’s possible.
Excerpt #2
Foley: Okay. Because this was the second time you were aware that Tookie was on or around the property with a gun. Right?
Defendant: Yes.
Foley: And after time No. 2, you didn’t call the police. Right?
Defendant: Yes.
Foley: You didn’t get a no trespass. Right?
Defendant: Yes.
Foley: And then after that, he shoots and kills Darius Dugas, Jr. Right?
Defendant: Yes.
Foley: Do you think that if you would have gotten a no trespass warning, it would have saved that 11-year-old boy’s life?
Defendant: It’s possible.
Foley: It’s possible. Right? But we’ll never know because you didn’t do it. Right?
Defendant: I did not.
Excerpt #3
Foley: Tookie committed aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in August of 2021. Right?
Defendant: That’s what was reported.
Foley: Okay. And management knew that Tookie had committed this crime in August of 2021. Right?
Defendant: It was brought to the property manager’s attention from what I understand.
Foley: Okay. And this aggravated assault with a deadly weapon was brought to the property manager’s attention before Darius Dugas, Jr. was murdered. Right?
Defendant: Yes.
Excerpt #3
Defendant: A reasonable property manager would have tried to get a no trespass against Tookie.
Foley: Thank you. Thank you. Why?
Defendant: Because he needed to be off the property.
Foley: Why did he need to be off the property?
Defendant: Well --
Foley: Because he was a threat. Right?
Defendant: According to the affidavits, he wasn’t a very pleasant person.
Foley: That’s not what I’m asking. I’m using a specific word. Right?
Defendant: Uh-huh.
Foley: And I want a specific answer. He should have been off the property because he was a threat to your tenants. Correct?
Defendant: According to these residents, yeah, he was a threat.
Foley: Based upon -- based upon on what we now know his prior conduct was, there was a risk that -- that Tookie would have hurt or killed someone on that property in the future. Right?
Defendant: Based on what we know, there was a great probability, yeah, that he would hurt someone.
Foley: And he did. Right?
Defendant: Yes, he did.
Foley: Who did he hurt?
Defendant: He hurt Darius Jr.
Foley: How did he hurt him?
Defendant: Shot him.
Foley: And he killed him. Right? Right?
Defendant: Yeah.
A tenant testified that, on Feb. 3, she went to the office and told staff that Howard was walking around the property with a gun again, appeared to under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and warned that “something has to be done or someone’s going to get hurt.”
Less than two hours later, Darius “DJ” Dugas took his last breath.