Texas Dad Thought Amazon Manager Was Kidnapping His Daughter, Allegedly Shoots Him Dead

A father in Houston, Texas, allegedly shot and killed an Amazon manager he mistakenly believed was kidnapping his daughter.

KHOU reported that the incident occurred at around 1:00 a.m. Christmas Day, but the father did not turn himself in until three weeks later.

The situation unfolded at a Houston gas station, when a Honda SUV passed the father’s GMC at the pump. A woman exited the GMC and chased the SUV, which appeared to accelerate into the road and speed away. Subsequently, the father stepped toward the road and allegedly raised a pistol and fired at the fleeing vehicle.

The SUV driver, 25-year-old Desmond Butler, was hit by one of the father’s rounds and crashed into a nearby pole. He died later at the hospital.

In a January 14, 2026, update, the Houston Police Department identified the father as 39-year-old Jonathan Ross Mata.

Houston PD noted:

Further investigation determined the suspect, identified as Mata, and his wife received a phone call from their daughter stating she was assaulted by her boyfriend. They drove to the location expecting their daughter to be dropped off. They believed the victim’s female passenger in the vehicle was their daughter.

Mata has now been charged with murder.