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Uber Driver Charged With Murder of Beloved Houston Pastor After Road Rage Shooting

Ronald K. Mouton Sr.
Mugshot of Deshawn Longmire via Houston Police Department

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of Houston pastor Dr. Ronald K. Mouton Sr. of East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, who was killed in an apparent road rage incident on June 24. 

On Friday (July 30), 23-year-old Deshawn Longmire of Pearland, Texas, was charged with Mouton’s murder. Police have identified Longmire as allegedly being the man caught on surveillance footage running back and forth in the street just prior to Mouton crashing his car. 

Mouton, who was 58 and had pastored East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church for over 30 years, had been described by community members as “a man of service,” “a hard worker,” and “a staple” of the Houston area community.

RELATED: Beloved Houston Pastor Murdered in Apparent Road Rage Incident

While Longmire, who is an Uber driver, had originally told investigators that he wasn’t in the area at the time of Mouton’s death, upon a thorough search of Longmire’s phone, authorities discovered that Uber records placed Longmire in the location of the murder at the time it occurred. 

One witness said that they could see Mouton and Longmire arguing prior to the shooting, and records show that a witness described seeing Longmire stretching his arm out of the window of his car with a pistol and shooting Mouton. 

On Saturday, the state asked that Longmire be held on a $1 million bond. While Longmire’s public defender pointed out that Longmire’s previous offenses were nonviolent misdemeanors and requested the amount be lowered to $35,000, the judge settled on $500,000, according to a local ABC affiliate.

Mouton’s family released a statement regarding Longmire’s arrest, which said, “We are grateful for all the love and concern the community continues to express. The horrific loss of our beloved, Rev. Dr. Ronald Mouton, Sr., is painful beyond words.”

“We are still grief-stricken over this senseless tragedy. We want the man who took his life to understand the seriousness of his crime. He took the life of a husband, a father. Our confidence and hope are in the proficient work of the police,” the statement continued. “We also hope the work of the entire criminal justice system is done thoroughly and that justice is duly served.”

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“We understand the public’s interest in this case, but we are not ready to speak publicly. We have authorized our trusted family friend, Bishop James Dixon, to interact with the media on our family’s behalf,” Mouton’s family said. “Thank you for respecting our need for privacy as we seek to heal from this traumatizing circumstance.”