A Texas man charged with the capital murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes has been released on bond.
Eric Black Jr, 20, was released on June 25, a day after his bond was lowered from $500,000 to $150,000.
Black was arrested in January after a tip was received by civil rights activist Shaun King, who notified Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of the Harris County Police Department that he believed Black and 24-year-old Larry Woodruffe were involved in the fatal drive-by shooting. Black later admitted to taking part in the murder of Jazmine and authorities believe Woodruffe is the shooter, according to KPRC.
(snip)
“I am grateful to our dedicated investigators, the partner law enforcement agencies that provided vital assistance, and tipsters from across the nation who pulled together to support our work to get justice for Jazmine,” Gonzalez said after the suspects were arrested. “Our work is not finished, but I believe the people of Harris County can take comfort in knowing we have made great progress.”
On December 30, 2018, Jazmine’s mother was driving her four daughters on a Houston Feeder road at roughly 6:50 a.m., when their vehicle was fired upon by another driver. Jazmine was killed and her mother, LaPorsha Washington was injured, according to abc13.
Police say Black and Woodruffe thought they were firing at someone they had argued with at a club the previous night.
After the shooting, Washington says one of her daughters noticed Jazmine wasn’t saying anything.
“She said, ‘Momma, Jazmine’s not moving. She’s not talking.’ I turned around and my 7-year-old was shot in the head,” Washington said.
Until the tip was given to King, police believed the suspect was a thin white male in his 30s or 40s who drove a red pickup truck. The family relayed that description to police after a red pickup truck had stopped at a traffic light next to Jazmine’s family before the shooting.
“This just went down very quickly,” Gonzalez said. “When the gunfire erupted, we are talking about small children, they witnessed something very traumatic. And it’s very likely the last thing they did see was that red truck and the driver in that truck.”
Gonzalez called it a case of mistaken identity during a press conference in January.
The story captured the attention of celebrities who reached out to support Jazmine’s family. Houston Texans Wide Receiver, DeAndre Hopkins donated his playoff game check to the family of Jazmine back in January.
“I have a 5-year-old daughter, so that could have been anybody in that position on this team,” said Hopkins. “It could have been anybody who is in this city, so it’s just unfortunate. I felt in my heart, it’s the only right way to give back to those who are down. Man, it’s a tough situation for that to happen.”
*see full story by Fox News