HOUSTON – A defense attorney for the man charged after the death of an 11-year-old boy, who was fatally shot while playing a ding dong ditch prank in Houston’s Eastside in August, is asking for a case file on an unlawful carrying of a weapon charge against an older cousin of the victim on scene the same day, KPRC 2 has learned.
Gonzalo Leon Jr., 42, is facing a murder charge in Harris County.
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He’s accused of shooting and killing 11-year-old Julian Guzman, who was playing doorbell pranks with his cousin just before 11 p.m. at night.
Leon Jr. is currently booked in Harris County jail on a $1 million bond.
Gianpaolo Macerola, the court-appointed attorney representing Leon Jr., filed a motion with the Harris County District Court this week asking a judge to return Leon’s cell phone and more evidence in the case.
Macerola said Leon’s phone was taken by Houston Police Department without a warrant.
In the motion, Macerola asks for audio and video recordings of SWAT during Leon’s arrest, the statement from Leon’s wife, the statement from Leon during interrogation, an extraction of Guzman’s cell phone, any search warrants related to the case, any surveillance videos and a shared case file on the victim’s older cousin on scene with a stolen pistol from his waistband.
KPRC 2 is working to confirm the name of the older cousin in the case.
According to Harris County court records, Leon was also granted funds for court-appointed private investigator, Jim Willis.
Bond set at $1M for army veteran charged in deadly shooting of 11-year-old playing ‘ding dong ditch’
Macerola tells KPRC 2 his client is indigent, and therefore asked the court for these funds.
Leon is also asking the court for a speedy trial. He has not yet entered a plea.
Earlier this month, KPRC 2 learned Leon is a U.S. Army veteran with experience in the Texas National Guard.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare previously said he plans to take this case to a grand jury and then will decide whether to upgrade the charge in this case to capital murder.