HOUSTON – Houston police have charged two teenagers with capital murder after a smoke shop owner was killed in north Houston Jan. 9.
According to investigators, Fernand Santiagovargas, 18, Jonny Albert Enamorado-Vasquez, 19, and a third person walked into 45 Smoke Shop at 2623 North Freeway shortly after 10 p.m. and began shooting at the owner, 36-year-old Michael Phelan.
Police say Phelan pulled his own gun on the men and fired back.
There were several people inside the business at the time of the shooting, but only the owner was targeted. The three men left the scene without taking any money from the cash register.
Phelan was shot four times, according to police. He was transported to Ben Taub Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Santiagovargas is being held on no bond; Enamorado-Vasquez has not been arrested, but will not be given bond. Police are still looking for the third shooter in this case.
The investigation then led to the location of Enamorado in Kenner, Louisiana. The homicide division also found that Enamorado has open traffic warrants with the Kenner Police Department.
Court documents also show that Phelan's brother-in-law, Michael Moya was in the smoke shop when the shooting happened. Police said he told officers that on the night of the shooting he was hit on the head with a gun and fell to the floor.
Police created a photo array with Enamorado and five others. According to court documents, Moya was able to give a "strong tentative identification" of Enamorado as one of the men he observed during the shooting.