A Houston man accused of shooting and killing an 11-year-old boy during a "ding dong ditch" prank is being held in jail on a $1 million bond.
Gonzalo Leon Jr., 42, appeared before Judge Emily Detoto during a bail hearing Wednesday. Leon is charged with murder in the death of Julian Guzman, who was shot in the back late Saturday night in East Houston.
Guzman and his cousin were playing a prank by knocking on doors and running away, known as "ding dong ditch." The arrest affidavit says the two children knocked on Leon's home and ran several times. As they ran, the surviving child told police he saw Leon, wearing all black, exit the home armed with a pistol and shoot once into the ground, then raise the pistol and fire again, striking Guzman, court documents show.
Guzman was transported to a hospital late Saturday night and died Sunday while being treated for a gunshot wound to the back.
In an appearance on Wednesday on Houston Public Media's “Hello Houston” show, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said it doesn't appear to be a case of self defense.
"This is an 11-year-old child who was found without any weapons," Teare said. "He was doing what kids his age do. So he was not a threat to property or to this individual. This individual just murdered him."
Leon's attorney, Gianpaolo Macerola, told Houston Public Media he was surprised by the million-dollar bond and said he blamed the current public narrative.
"Considering he has no criminal history and the fact that he is a disabled veteran ... but considering the amount of media coverage and the narrative that’s already been spun by the DA’s office, I do kind of understand where Judge DeSoto is coming from," Macerola said.
Macerola told Houston Public Media that Leon served in the Army between 2013 and 2016, was honorably discharged, and is considered a disabled veteran.
Leon was initially questioned at the scene by police officers on the night of the shooting, but was released. He was charged with murder Monday and arrested shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Court documents show Leon was arrested by a SWAT team at a La Quinta hotel in La Porte, approximately 20 miles from his home in the Galena Park area of Houston. At Leon's home, police found approximately 20 firearms, including AR-style rifles, shotguns and medium-caliber pistols, according to the arrest affidavit.
Macerola said Leon and his family fled their family home after news of the shooting broke and decided to seek shelter at a hotel near San Jacinto College Maritime Campus, where he says Leon is enrolled.
"Reporters and media have been outside of his home, and he has a two-year-old," Macerola said. "They can’t get any sleep."
In 2019, Leon was arrested in Guadalupe County for an alleged "terroristic threat" against his sister. Leon's sister alleged he threatened her and her children, telling her he had a "green light." The sister told police she believed the term meant "permission to kill." The case was dismissed two months later.
Macerola said that the 2019 arrest was dismissed because it was a case of mistaken identity and did not involve his client at all.
"It is absolutely false," he said. "He was arrested in Harris County (on) a charge for somebody with the same name and date of birth out of Guadalupe County."
Regarding the murder charge, Teare estimated his office would present the case to a grand jury within 90 days, but that it would likely be "well into next year" before the case went to a jury.
"The investigation has to slow," he said. "We slow it to a crawl. We work through the ballistics evidence. We canvass the entire neighborhood. We want to paint the picture from both the defendants and the victims throughout the entire day."
Teare also said that the death penalty is not possible because of Guzman's age.
"[Leon] can be and will likely be charged with capital murder before we go to trial," Teare said. “If it is a child under the age of 10, you’re eligible for the death penalty. Between [ages] 10 and 15, it is a life without parole."
Macerola says he plans to file a motion for his own investigation into the case. For now, Leon remains in Harris County Jail.
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