The man charged with capital murder in the death of 5-year-old Zah’Layah Walton will remain in jail without bond for at least the next 10 days.
Jeremy Porter, 47, will be held without bond until his next hearing. At that hearing, the judge will decide whether Porter should continue to be held without bond until trial or whether to set a bail amount.
Porter appeared before a judge for the first time Tuesday morning.
The decision comes as Zah’Layah’s family and supporters have called for Porter to remain behind bars without bond.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare addressed the case following the hearing.
“This isn’t the first little girl who’s been shot and killed in her parent’s car in Harris County,” Teare said. “It’s unacceptable.”
Porter is accused of firing five shots at the car carrying Zah’Layah, her mother and her siblings Saturday night near 11700 Grant Road in northwest Harris County. Investigators with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the family was not the intended target and described the shooting as a case of mistaken identity.
What investigators say happened
Zah’Layah was riding with her mother, Monica Hicks, and her siblings when a man in a pickup truck opened fire on their car.
Hicks said she was driving her children home when she suddenly heard gunfire.
“My back window shattered, and he shot in my car twice through the window,” Hicks said. “And he hit my baby in the head. I did not know my baby was hit.”
Hicks said she rushed back to her apartment and only then realized Zah’Layah had been shot in the head.
Zah’Layah was flown to a hospital by Life Flight but did not survive.
Authorities arrested Porter after the shooting. According to court documents, Porter told investigators he was driving the pickup truck and fired five shots at the family’s car.
Investigators said Porter believed the vehicle was being driven by a man who had previously driven aggressively and fired at him. He allegedly opened fire after mistakenly identifying Hicks’ car as the same vehicle.
During Tuesday’s court hearing, it was revealed that investigators found a bullet hole in the driver-side door of Porter’s truck but no bullet holes on the passenger side.
Hicks said she had never interacted with Porter and did not see his pickup truck before the shooting.
“This was not road rage,” victim advocate April Aguirre previously said. “This was an instance where a mom was attacked with her children in the vehicle, and they were shot from behind.”
License plate readers helped investigators identify suspect
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said evidence and automated license plate readers helped investigators locate the pickup truck and identify Porter in less than 24 hours.
Investigators said a witness spotted Porter’s vehicle at the scene and that Flock automatic license plate readers were then used to track him down.
“Sadly, other families who have lost loved ones to roadway violence are still waiting for answers,” Gonzalez said in a Facebook post. “Technology cannot replace good police work, but tools like license plate readers can give investigators valuable information when every minute matters.”
Aguirre said Porter should have called law enforcement instead of allegedly taking matters into his own hands.
“He didn’t call the police and say, ‘You know what? Somebody shot at my vehicle,'” Aguirre said. “He handled it himself. It took the Flock cameras to not only find him, but ensure that he was brought to justice.”
Teare also urged people not to turn to firearms during roadway confrontations.
“Put the guns down. Nothing is solved by the road rage and the firearms that we see used day in and day out here,” Teare said.
‘The last thing I said was, ‘Yes.”
Hicks said her daughter had been talking about what she wanted to eat when they arrived home.
“My baby was like, ‘Mommy, can I have a Hot Pocket when I get home?'” Hicks said. “And the last thing I said was, ‘Yes.'”
Instead, Hicks said, her daughter was fatally wounded.
“I ask God, why did he take my baby instead of me?” Hicks said. “I wouldn’t wish this pain on anybody.”
Dozens of people gathered Monday night for a vigil honoring Zah’Layah. Family members, activists and supporters called themselves “Zah’Layah’s Army.”
Pink balloons were released into the night sky as photos of the 5-year-old were displayed for the crowd.
Aguirre, whose 9-year-old niece Arlene Alvarez was fatally shot in 2022 while riding in her family’s vehicle, said Porter’s arrest does not lessen the family’s loss.
“We sit here today with a suspect in jail, but a little girl that’s going to have to go in a casket,” Aguirre said.
Hicks said she is struggling to accept that her daughter is gone.
“I’m going to go insane. I lost my baby,” Hicks said. “Nobody else — that was my baby. I carried her. And it hurts so bad that I can’t do anything about it. My baby’s never coming back.”
Porter’s next hearing is scheduled for 10 days from now. The judge will then decide whether he will remain jailed without bond until trial or whether a bail amount will be set.
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