A Houston criminal defense lawyer has been accused of fatally shooting his roommate and longtime friend during a physical altercation last month.
Michael "Mike" Stuart Driver, 46, faces one count of murder in the death of 48-year-old Jesse Reyes, according to Harris County court records.
The shooting occurred on June 27 at a home on Vassar Street in the Boulevard Oaks neighborhood. Police said the two men argued and the fight turned physical before Driver shot Reyes once in the chest.
Driver called 911 and told dispatchers that Reyes had tried to gouge out his left eye. His attorneys, including Jed Silverman and Dick DeGuerin, maintain the shooting was self-defense.
"It's an extremely unfortunate situation," Silverman told KTRK. "But it's our belief he's not guilty, and that's what the evidence will show."
The Harris County District Attorney's Office asked to be removed from the case because Driver's brother works there as a prosecutor. Reyes was listed in court records as both Driver's "bodyguard" and "best friend."