Jonathan Ross Mata, 39, is accused of murder after fatally shooting Desmond Butler, 25, around 1 a.m. on Christmas Day, according to the Houston Police Department. Authorities say Mata claimed he believed Butler had assaulted his daughter after she reported that her boyfriend had attacked her. Mata allegedly assumed his daughter had been dropped off at a gas station, went there, and shot a man he believed was her boyfriend, who was later identified as Butler. Police say Butler was not Mata’s daughter’s boyfriend; he was an Amazon manager and was sitting in a car with a woman who was not Mata’s daughter at the time of the shooting. Investigators allege Mata was accompanied by a woman when he fired into Butler’s vehicle. The woman who was in the car with Butler told police that Mata apologized after the shooting, said he was looking for his daughter, and called the police. Mata was arrested and has since been released on bail.
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