HOUSTON – A man accused of fatally shooting a Houston-area father in his car while his young daughter was in the back seat is waiting to hear if he will be given a bond for his release after his first court appearance on Monday.
Carlos Chavez, 28, was charged with felony murder Thursday and taken into custody Friday evening. Police used surveillance video, license plate readers, and his ankle monitor to connect him to the shooting that killed 23-year-old Jadrian “JD” Edwards.
According to records, Chavez was out on four felony bonds, including two for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two for felon in possession of a weapon.
Chavez was released from jail days after his February 2024 arrest, according to records, for a July 2023 road rage shooting after Judge Josh Hill granted a $60,000 total bond on two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In that case, records show a driver was left with injuries to his arms, legs, and stomach area.
But at that time, Chavez was already out of jail on two personal bonds on the felon in possession of a weapon charges.
“None of this should have happened. The system failed this family miserably,” Andy Kahan, director of victim services for Crime Stoppers of Houston, said. “I’ll argue to my dying breath that this was so utterly preventable ... this was somebody who clearly had a propensity to commit violent acts.”
Chavez’s arrest record dates back to 2013. In 2017, records show he pled guilty to a robbery after attacking a woman for her purse and got sentenced to two years in state prison.
Prosecutors in the murder case have now filed for him to be held without bond, at least for 60 days, and possibly longer after that.
“He’s never harmed anybody, not to that extent. My son didn’t deserve what he got,” Edwards’ mother Patrice Edwards-Blake told only KPRC 2. “If I shot somebody that many times, would I be walking free? ... If you let him go free this time, he’s already murdered someone. I’m a mother without a child. Would he want to walk around without his children?”
On Tuesday, Chavez’s attorneys will return to Judge Hill’s courtroom for a bond hearing to determine if he will have one set or continue to be held without pending trial.
Prosecutors consider him a true habitual felon.
“Due to the stage the case is in, I’m in the process of investigating the facts surrounding the incident,” Chavez’s defense attorney Juan L. Guerra told KPRC 2.
Edwards-Blake described her oldest son as hardworking and overprotective.
"He had one of the best hearts under the sun. Everybody that knew him loved him, and he loved them," she said. "It’s an unbelievable feeling when your child has done nothing wrong."
What happened
The shooting happened as Edwards was en route to have photos taken with his daughter.
The shooting took place on Nov. 7 in southwest Houston.
Edwards was found shot multiple times, and a 23-year-old man who was sitting in the passenger seat of Edward’s vehicle was rushed to the hospital for injuries. According to court documents, the man was later arrested on unrelated charges.
Police initially said the deadly shooting was a road rage, but court documents didn’t specify the reason behind the shooting.
On Monday, HPD investigators said they haven’t determined a motive, but road rage or something more targeted hadn’t been ruled out.
Edwards’ baby was not hurt, but Edwards-Blake said she had clearly been crying after being sprayed with glass and blood.
Officers rescued her from the backseat and reunited her with family.
OUR FIRST REPORT: Houston-area father shot to death with baby daughter in car
During the investigation, officers obtained security footage from a METRO bus, showing both involved vehicles—Edwards’ white Ford Crown Victoria and the suspect’s silver Toyota RAV-4—traveling at around the same speed. Edwards’ passenger’s arm is seen extended out of the car window for an unknown reason, and then the driver of the RAV-4 pulls out a gun and starts shooting, according to records.
Investigators said the RAV-4 belonged to Chavez, and his ankle monitor data confirmed he was at the scene at the time of the shooting.