Man surrenders in fatal Christmas shooting, claims couple was looking for daughter

HOUSTON - A man has turned himself in for a deadly Christmas shooting in Houston's Chinatown area. According to court records, the man claimed it was a tragic case of mistaken identity.

Houston Christmas shooting: Suspect surrenders

What we know:

Police announced the arrest of 39-year-old Jonathan Mata on Wednesday. Records confirmed he has been charged with murder and has posted his $50,000 bond.

Chinatown gas station shooting

Courtesy of OnScene TV Houston

The backstory:

Police say the shooting happened at about 1 a.m. on Dec. 25 along West Sam Houston Parkway near Bellaire Boulevard.

Authorities at the crime scene said there was an altercation at a gas station on Bellaire and the victim was able to drive away, but he was shot and eventually struck a light pole in a nearby parking lot.

The victim has since been identified as 25-year-old Desmond Butler. Police say he was taken to a hospital, but was later pronounced deceased.

Surveillance video shows Butler's Honda Pilot driving past the suspects' GMC Acadia at a gas station along Bellaire. As Butler drove past, a woman is seen getting out of the GMC, chasing his vehicle, and trying to open one of the car doors.

The footage then shows a man coming from the GMC and firing a gun. 

Claims of mistaken identity

Dig deeper:

Court records say Mata, his wife, and their attorney came to a police station, and Mata confessed to the shooting.

In the announcement of Mata's arrest, police said he and Butler did not know each other.

According to documents, Mata told police that his daughter called him at about 12:30 a.m. on Christmas Day saying she had been assaulted by her boyfriend. 

Mata and his wife were at the Bellaire gas station to meet their daughter, who was supposed to be dropped off by her boyfriend. 

Mata claimed a vehicle pulled into a gas station with a female passenger and a driver who looked like his daughter's boyfriend. He and his wife thought their daughter was in the vehicle, so when it drove past him, Mata's wife got out and ran after the vehicle.

Mata reportedly admitted to shooting at the vehicle as it left the gas station, then saw it crash into a light pole. The couple then opened the door to the vehicle, saw their daughter wasn't inside, and went home. 

Documents say Mata didn't realize that he shot Butler, and he didn't call 911 out of fear.

Allegedly, the girl who was in Butler's car told police that the shooter opened the door and "said something to the effect of, ‘Oh we were looking for our kidnapped daughter, I’m sorry, we will call 911.'"

What we don't know:

Other details regarding Mata's daughter's alleged assault are not available.