Suspect Arrested Nearly 3 Years After Houston Birthday Party Shooting Killed 67-Year-Old Man
HOUSTON – A 20-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder nearly three years after a shooting at a Houston birthday party left a 67-year-old man dead and a juvenile girl wounded.
Joshua Rodriguez, 20, is charged with murder in the 487th Criminal District Court in connection with the Dec. 17, 2023, death of Filiberto Puente, according to the Houston Police Department.
The shooting happened about 1:20 a.m. at a residence at 8048 Juliabora St. in Houston’s Meadowbrook/Allendale area.
Houston police officers responding to the shooting found Puente unresponsive in the living room with multiple gunshot wounds. Houston Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
A juvenile girl was also shot in the leg. Police said her injury was not life-threatening. She was taken to a Houston-area hospital, treated and later released.
Investigators determined that a large group of people had gathered at the home for a birthday party. At some point, several people became involved in a physical fight that escalated into gunfire, according to HPD.
The shooting killed Puente and wounded the girl.
Detectives later identified Rodriguez as a suspect in the case. Houston police did not provide details about what evidence led investigators to Rodriguez or describe his alleged role in the shooting.
Officers with HPD’s Eastside Patrol Division Crime Suppression Team arrested Rodriguez on Sept. 28. He was subsequently charged with murder and booked into the Harris County Jail.
