FORT WORTH, Texas - A 17-year-old is facing a murder charge after allegedly shooting a man in the head during a confrontation early Sunday morning, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Fort Worth teen accused of murder
Maverik Parish, 17, was identified in court documents as the suspect in the death of 28-year-old Enrique Avila. The shooting happened around 2 a.m. on March 15 at 1900 East Long Ave.
The backstory:
According to the affidavit filed by Fort Worth police, Parish was a passenger in a black 2004 Ford Expedition and had been firing a tan handgun into the ground several times before the encounter.
Investigators say Avila, who reportedly appeared intoxicated and possibly having a schizophrenic episode, approached the SUV at the intersection of East Long and Schwartz avenues because he was upset that Parish had been firing a weapon in the neighborhood.
Witnesses and occupants of the vehicle told police that Avila was unarmed and stood on the left side of the SUV, yelling at Parish through the passenger window. When the driver reversed and tried to drive around Avila, he moved into the vehicle's path, forcing it to stop again.
5 detained in Fort Worth fatal shooting
One person was killed in a shooting early Sunday morning on East Long Avenue in North Fort Worth.
As Avila walked toward the front of the vehicle, the affidavit alleges that Parish stuck the tan pistol out of the window and fired one shot. Avila collapsed in a grassy median and died at the scene.
The occupants of the vehicle initially left the scene but then made a U-turn to return and check if the man had been shot. Officers, alerted by the Real Time Crime Center, conducted an investigatory stop in the 2900 block of North Nichols and detained all five people inside the vehicle. Police found a black pistol and a tan pistol in plain view inside the vehicle.
The investigating detective noted that no witnesses believed Avila was armed or attempting to assault anyone, saying Parish used deadly force despite not being threatened with imminent harm.
Parish remains in custody on a murder charge. A bond has not been set at this time.
The Source: Information in this article is from the arrest warrant for Maverick Parish and from the Fort Worth Police Department.