HOUSTON – A suspect accused of fatally shooting an 8-year-old during a drive-by in east Harris County in June has been arrested, deputies said.
Denzel Perkins, 26, has been charged with felony murder in the deadly shooting of victim Paul Vasquez. He was booked into the Harris County Jail Tuesday. A judge set his bond at $200,000.
Arrest update: today HCSO Homicide Unit arrested Denzel Perkins (6-26-96) for his role in the shooting death of 8-yr-old Paul Vasquez. Perkins is charged with Felony Murder. Perkins was placed into the Harris County Jail. #HouNews https://t.co/cHIMomfqLQ
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) August 17, 2022
Deputies said they received reports of a shooting inside a residence on June 12, 2022. Paul’s mother, Josephine Rendon, said her son was walking to another room to get a video game charger when bullets hit the home, striking her boy and ultimately killing him.
“He was my pride and joy. Everywhere I went he was always with me,” Rendon said. “He loved video games. He liked music. He liked being a little character.”
According to investigators, the child was able to get up and tell his mother what happened before collapsing.
Paul was transported by an ambulance to Ben Taub Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
“Why, God. Why my baby? He didn’t hurt anybody,” Rendon said.
Deputies said the boy’s two brothers were also in the home when the shooting happened.
A silver sedan was captured on surveillance video. Court documents said investigators used phone records to show Perkins was outside the home at the time of the shooting. Perkins told investigators that he was just the driver.
“A man who he knows as ‘Little Fire ‘was in the passenger seat of the car. That ‘Little Fire’ told him, ‘That’s the house,’ and then ‘Little Fire’ started shooting towards the house,” court officials read.
However, Perkins was charged with felony murder. Court documents allege that Perkins was the shooter who fired at the home.