Sherroin Brentley

On the day after Christmas in 2017, Sherroin Joaquinn Brentley Sr., a 38-year-old Black man, was taken from his family in a sudden act of violence in north Houston, Texas. His loved ones would gather just over a week later, first for a wake and then a homegoing service, to mourn a man they cherished and lay him to rest at Houston Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Pearland.

The fatal encounter occurred around 2:10 p.m. on Tuesday, December 26, 2017. Sherroin was sitting in the driver's seat of his car in a parking lot at 8341 Veterans Memorial Drive. Suddenly, a man approached the vehicle and fired a volley of shots, striking Sherroin multiple times. In a desperate attempt to escape the attack, Sherroin accelerated, but his car crashed into a median. When Houston Fire Department paramedics arrived, they pronounced him dead at the scene.

Houston Police Department homicide detectives C. Sharp and N. Sharp began an immediate investigation. Witnesses described the shooter as a Black male who fled the scene in a burgundy Buick LaCrosse. For months, the case saw few public developments as investigators worked to piece together the evidence and identify the person responsible for Sherroin's death.

Nearly a year later, a suspect emerged. In October 2018, the Harris County Sheriff's Office identified Ronald Roy Smith, 32, also known by the nickname "Pappa," as the suspect in another Houston-area killing. Smith was charged with the murder of 34-year-old Michael Ware, who was shot and killed in front of his young children. During that investigation, Houston police detectives linked Smith to the murder of Sherroin Brentley as well. Law enforcement officials described Smith as "extremely dangerous" and a man with "no regard for human life." Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez urged the community to help get the "killer off our streets and in jail where he belongs."

A manhunt for Smith was launched, involving local law enforcement and the U.S. Marshals. The search came to an end on November 6, 2018, when members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force and U.S. Marshals located and arrested Smith in Wenona, Georgia. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Worth County Jail to await extradition back to Harris County to face charges in both murders.

As of the latest available reports from November 2018, Ronald Roy Smith was in custody in Georgia pending his return to Texas. The subsequent legal proceedings, including trial dates, verdicts, or sentences related to the murder charge for the death of Sherroin Brentley, have not been publicly reported. The case, which brought profound loss to a family, awaited its day in court to bring a measure of justice for a life cut short. Anyone with information on the case was previously urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division or Crime Stoppers.