Police: Loitering fuss spurred shooting

Suspect’s spouse complained about people on stairs

An argument over people sitting on stairs sparked the shooting that left two dead and four — including a former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant — in critical condition Sunday, according to newly released court documents.

Brothers Harvey Jones, 34, and Jeremy Jones, 28, are wanted for their roles in the shooting at the troubled Haverstock Hills apartment complex in north Houston. By the time police arrived, six people had already been shot, but authorities used witnesses to piece together a narrative.

The chaos started when the victims got into a spat with Harvey Jones’ common law wife, Jacqueline Brown, who lives at the Haverstock complex. Brown was upset that people were sitting and standing around the stairs near her apartment — and that’s what sparked the shooting, witnesses said.

The gunfire broke out moments later after Harvey and Jeremy Jones and their sister Angelic Jones pulled up in a white sedan.

First, Jeremy Jones took a weapon out of the trunk and approached the crowd around the building, according to court documents.

After exchanging some words with the group, the suspects apparently were getting ready to hop in the car and leave. But then, prosecutors allege, Harvey Jones started threatening people with the weapon, possibly an AR-15. He put the weapon back in the trunk, but his brother brought it back out and opened fire, according to court documents.

Christopher Beatty and Gary Wayne Rusher were both killed in the gunfire. Arthur Larkin, Isiah Rusher, “Top Model” contestant Brandy Rusher and Ty’bra Baptiste were all wounded. Beatty’s brother, Sean Beatty, lived in the complex at the time of the shooting. Larkin, who was the Rushers’ in-law, was also a resident.

Afterward, 24 empty shell casings and one live round littered the parking lot. Bullet holes covered the walls and doors of the complex, and one round entered a home and nearly hit one of the tenants.

Brown, the brothers and their sister hopped in two different cars and fled the scene. Later, the owner of a white Cadillac sedan came forward and told sheriff ’s deputies that Brown had borrowed his car a few weeks earlier, and left it at a nearby apartment complex after the shooting. Afterward, she stopped answering his calls, but a friend tipped him off that the Cadillac had been used as the getaway car.

Witnesses identified the Jones siblings as the suspects in the case. Although Harvey Jones is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and Jeremy Jones is facing capital murder charges, Angelic Jones has not been charged in connection with the shooting. The sheriff ’s office declined to clarify whether she is wanted in the case.

On Tuesday, Haverstock management issued a statement offering condolences and noting that neither of the accused men lived at the property.

“We have made great strides with reducing crime in our community,” the statement said.

“We remain committed to our continued efforts to apply all best practices in detouring crime, and work closely with law enforcement to support their efforts.”