Lifetime of grief for family
After chain reaction of two tragedies killed five relatives, documents and accounts suggest it was all preventable
On a Sunday evening in midMarch, a sheriff ’s deputy pulled over a driver who sped by his patrol car near Spring.
The man admitted to having a “small amount of marijuana,” which the deputy took for lab testing. Not seeing any outward signs of impairment, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, he let the motorist leave.
At an intersection roughly 7.5 miles away, Porsha Branch and her three young boys paused at a red light after a busy evening spent helping her mom move into a new home. As the family was stopped, the man, believed to be speeding again and allegedly intoxicated, smashed into the back of Branch’s vehicle, killing the 28-year-old and her three children.
At a vigil for the family five days later, relatives received another devastating call. The kids’ 6-year-old cousin, Laurionne Walker, had been shot multiple times amid an argument at the Pasadena home of a family friend babysitting so the girl’s mother could attend the remembrance. Paramedics raced Laurionne to a hospital, where she died.
Nearly a month after the pair of intertwined tragedies, members of the extended family hope for answers and justice from the courts as two men have been charged in connection with the two cases. Numerous questions remain, such as why a sheriff ’s deputy released a man accused of having a blood alcohol content level twice the legal limit moments later when he set off a chain-reaction wreck that ignited a lifetime of grief.
“We still are taking a day at a time,” said Damien House,
Branch’s husband, father of the three children and Laurionne’s uncle.
The Harris County sheriff’s deputy pulled over Daniel A. Canada, shortly after 8 p.m. March 14.
The stop is under review by the office’s internal affairs division “to determine whether all applicable policies were followed.” The office has not released any updates and declined to answer questions about whether body camera footage of the stop was available and why the deputy did not issue the man a speeding ticket.
“This case remains an open investigation, and we have no additional information to release at this time,” spokesman Jason Spencer wrote in an email.
Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said his deputies ran Canada’s vehicle plates after the crash, which showed he had been pulled over “minutes before the wreck.” Canada’s vehicle registered a speed of 115 mph two seconds before smashing into Branch’s vehicle, officials said.
At a hospital, blood drawn from Canada showed his blood alcohol level was about twice the legal limit, Herman said.
A lawyer listed as representing Canada in his four counts of intoxication manslaughter did not return a message seeking comment.
“I don’t know what he told the sheriff ’s deputy,” Herman said. “I feel for the family. Impaired driving is 100 percent preventable.”
Canada had several previous run-ins with law enforcement, according to court records. One of the most recent incidents occurred in November 2018 when he was stopped in Liberty County and later charged with possession of marijuana, being a felon in possession of a firearm and money laundering. He made bond two days after being arrested.
Upon learning of the collision in Harris County, prosecutors moved to revoke his bond, which prompted the issuing of warrants for his arrest, said Mark A. Boemio of the Liberty County district attorney’s office.
“Everyone is entitled to bail,” Boemio said. “It’s very sad and unfortunate that it happened this way, but I don’t think there’s anything we could have done short of violating his constitutional rights.”
Canada still faces three charges in Liberty County stemming from the 2018 stop, according to Boemio and indictments obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
Raymeon Means, the 35-yearold who faces capital murder charges in the death of the little girl in Pasadena, had been convicted of felonies in Harris County, including a 2014 incident when he pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery.
Records also show two incidents involving children: endangering a child in 2008 and injury to a child in 2006, when Means was accused of pushing over a stroller with a child in it, according to a criminal complaint. He received 10 months in state jail after pleading guilty.
Means appeared to be homeless and staying on and off with his sister at the apartment where he is accused of shooting Laurionne Walker during an argument over spilled water after a toilet clogged, according to Pasadena police spokesman Sgt. R.L. Granados.
It’s unclear whom the argument was between, Granados said, but police determined the 6year-old caused the toilet backup. She, the suspect and his sister were in the same room when the argument ensued and he allegedly shot her.
Detectives hadn’t found the firearm used in the shooting at least two weeks later.
“I don't think we have recovered it,” Granados said. “Don’t know what type of gun it was.”
It’s also unclear whether Means could have lawfully had a firearm.
A lawyer for Means listed in court documents did not return a message seeking comment. In late March, a judge ordered an interview and collection of information to determine whether Means has a mental illness or intellectual disability.
Means and Canada were being held, according to sheriff ’s office records, at the same jail on Baker Street in Houston.
House, Branch’s husband, started phoning his wife after getting a call from his mother-in-law that she’d been unable to reach her daughter.
Every call House placed to his wife went straight to voicemail. He figured about 10 minutes would be plenty to charge her phone if it was dead. He tried again. Voicemail again.
His sister-in-law called him, crying. “Call my mom,” she told House. He dialed his mother-inlaw.
“It’s not looking good.” House said he “flew” to the hospital. Branch and Drake, who was less than a year old, perished at the scene. His two other sons, King, 5, and Messiah, 2, died after fighting to stay alive.
“I’m taking it a day at a time,” House, 31, said. “It’s hard.”
About a decade ago, he met Branch on Facebook. They went on a couple of dates and fell in love.
“Wonderful mother, down to earth, sweetie, beautiful young lady,” House said, his voice slightly quivering. “All the amazing things you can think of from a woman.”
The family enjoyed spending time with one another, House said, going out to eat or catching a movie or visiting a park for “family day.” He misses all the parts of being a dad and the parts he had yet to experience.
“Every moment, the funny, the laughter,” House said. “Just being a father to them. Now I’m not going to see them any more.”
His kids also liked to hang out with their cousin, Laurionne.
Every time the 6-year-old went to her aunt’s house, Nicole T. Sledge made sure her niece, Laurionne, left with candy.
She loved candy as much as she loved food, family, unicorns and dancing for TikTok videos.
“She was a princess,” Sledge said. “Everybody that met her loved her.”
Bright and social, she learned to talk around age 1, said her 32year-old cousin, Jlissa Austin, who recalled how the little girl could chat for hours.
“She was a happy child,” Austin said. “Anytime I’ve seen her, she was smiling.”
Shortly before the shooting, Sledge bought Easter candy for the bowl in her home that Laurionne would usually empty out. But the child never made it back to her aunt’s house.