HOUSTON – The suspect accused of fatally shooting 11-year-old Julian Guzman last month has been indicted for murder.
Gonzalo Leon Jr., 42, was indicted by a Harris County grand jury on a first-degree murder charge, according to his defense attorneys.
Leon is accused of shooting Guzman in the back after the boy played a “ding-dong ditch” prank at a home in the 9700 block of Mimbrough in Houston’s Eastside on the night of Aug. 30.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare had said he believed Leon’s charge should be for capital murder, but the grand jury returned an indictment for a first-degree murder charge instead.
It’s not clear if prosecutors presented a capital murder case as grand jury proceedings happen in secret.
The grand jury returned two additional indictments for injury to a child and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, also connected to the same shooting and victim.
What happened
Investigators say Guzman was part of a group of children playing “ding-dong ditch” at the home when Leon came outside and shot the boy around 11 p.m. on Aug. 30.
Guzman was struck in the back and was taken to a hospital where he died.
A SWAT team responded to the home following the shooting and reportedly called out to Leon with PA systems from vehicles outside. After roughly 20 minutes, Leon exited the house and was arrested.
According to Leon’s charging documents, he was in the home with his wife and toddler-age daughter at the time of the shooting.
Guzman’s cousin, who was with him during the incident, gave his version of events to investigators.
He said he and Guzman had attended a family member’s birthday party earlier in the night. He said he and Guzman were bored and decided to ring doorbells in the neighborhood and run away as a joke.
Guzman’s cousin said they knocked on Leon’s door “several times” and ran away. The last time they knocked, they saw a man, described as wearing all black, exit the home’s nearby gate armed with a pistol.
Standing near a stop sign next to the house, the man allegedly fired the pistol once into the ground, raised it, and fired it again, this time in the victim’s direction.
Guzman was hit by the second shot, and he fell to the ground, his cousin said. He cried out in pain, called for help and stated that he was unable to move. Guzman’s cousin said he “Army dragged” him, because he believed he was paralyzed. A neighbor rushed to help.
As this happened, Leon allegedly walked back into his home.
Authorities searched Leon’s home following the arrest and found around 20 guns, including at least four “AR-style” rifles, shotguns and pistols.
Leon was booked into the Harris County Jail and has a $1 million bond. His defense attorney requested a bond reduction, but the request was denied.