Far North Houston Stepfather Shot and Killed During Family Dispute

Early Thursday morning, December 12, 2024, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Investigators responded to a residence at 5730 Pebble Springs Drive in North Houston following a fatal shooting.

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Deputies and EMS were dispatched around 1:00 a.m. after a family member called 911 to report that an adult male had been shot. Upon arrival, deputies found 48-year-old Oren Drakes lying unresponsive on the first floor of the home with multiple gunshot wounds. Despite EMS efforts, Drakes was pronounced dead at the scene.

Several teenage children were inside the residence at the time, but the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Josh Logan Lewis, had fled before law enforcement arrived. The victim’s wife, overcome with grief, was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a verbal altercation between Lewis and his stepfather, Drakes, escalated to violence, resulting in the shooting. After the incident, Lewis reportedly left the scene with one or two other individuals.

Authorities are working to determine whether the shooting was murder or self-defense. Investigators are actively searching for Lewis to interview him and gather more details about the events leading up to the shooting.

The juvenile children were released to family members who arrived after the incident.

Drakes’ body was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office, where an autopsy will be performed to confirm the cause and manner of death.

Anyone with information about the shooting or the location of Josh Logan Lewis is urged to contact the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit at 713-274-9100 or Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS.