Background: The 17000 block of Butte Creek Road outside Houston, Texas (Google Maps) Inset: Angel Gomez Montanez (Harris County Sheriff”s Office)
A man was living rent-free for months in a Texas home, but when he was finally asked to pay, he reportedly shot and killed one of his roommates and attempted to harm others.
Angel Gomez Montanez, 21, was wanted by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly murdering Christopher Rodriguez Lara, 18. After at least two days on the run, he was arrested, charged with murder, and booked into the Harris County Jail.
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On June 12 shortly after 10 p.m., Harris County deputies arrived at the 17000 block of Butte Creek Road and found Rodriguez Lara suffering from gunshot wounds. Emergency personnel came soon after and pronounced him dead.
Detectives investigating the crime learned the shooting arose out of an argument over paying rent, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The suspect reportedly wasn’t just a random roommate either, but a man with familial ties to the victim.
“The only thing we told him is we needed the money for rent,” Zuleyka Ortiz told KTRK, adding that Gomez Montanez is her children’s older brother and was offered a place on their apartment’s couch for three months before being asked to help out. “I told him this can’t be happening. We have bills to pay.”
After being asked to pay rent, days before the shooting, Gomez Montanez gathered his belongings and left the apartment, Ortiz told the outlet. When he came back, he said he needed to speak with Rodriguez Lara, who he then allegedly shot outside of his front door.
Authorities said Gomez Montanez also tried to shoot the victim’s brother, per the Charlotte Observer. A 9-year-old witness reportedly heard the suspect say, “I’m going to kill all of them,” before he left.
Ortiz remembered Rodriguez Lara, her brother-in-law, as “the happiness in this home … My children loved him.”
