NEED TO KNOW
- A TikToker who turned himself in is one of two men charged with murder following the fatal shooting of a Marine veteran in Houston
- Anthony Sanders, 30, was fatally shot on June 3 at a parking garage at the Houston Galleria
- Sanders’ mother said he was “protecting his son and his fiancée,” which she said he “always does”
A TikToker is now one of two men charged in the fatal shooting of a Marine veteran and father after turning himself into Texas authorities this week.
Anthony Sanders, 30, was fatally shot on June 3 around 5 p.m. local time in a parking garage at the Houston Galleria in Houston, police said. Sanders was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Days after 23-year-old Marko Cinan was charged with murder on June 25 and booked into the Harris County Jail, a second man — identified by ABC affiliate KTRK and FOX affiliate KRIV as Justin Guzman — turned himself in on Monday, June 30, at the Harris County Joint Processing Center.
Guzman, 22, is now also charged with murder with a bond set to $750,000 and a court date scheduled for Wednesday, July 9, according to Harris County Jail records. Cinan is due in court on the same day, with his bond set to $1,000,000.
The Houston Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information on Friday, July 4.
According to both NBC affiliate KPRC and KTRK, Sanders was with his fiancée and young son at the time of the shooting. KPRC reports that his son is 10 months old.
Speaking with KPRC, Sanders’ mother, Ronyel Sanders, revealed that she was on a phone call with her son during the shooting and that he died “protecting his son and his fiancée,” which she said he “always does.”
Citing court records, the outlet also reported that the suspects got into an argument with Sanders about his fiancée. When Sanders attempted to leave the parking lot, the two men allegedly blocked his car and shot him 10 times after he got out to complain, per KPRC.
“I guess both parties had disagreements. They got back in their car. Anthony’s car was behind theirs,” Ronyel said, per KTRK. “They didn’t allow him to leave. Brake checked him, put their car in reverse, and tried to smack his car.”
KPRC has also shared a TikTok allegedly showing Guzman and featuring news clips of Sanders’ killing paired with videos of the suspect dancing, which Sanders’ family has reportedly since sent to prosecutors. Guzman has over 50,000 followers on the platform.
Guzman’s attorney, Romy Kaplan, tells PEOPLE in a statement on Friday, July 4, that his client was defending himself. He claimed that the “complainant” was “looking to confront 3-5 young men with a knife and a gun in his waistband,” tailgated the car Guzman was in and attempted to confront him before his client “opened fire in self-defense.”
“If Justin Guzman is not allowed to defend himself from imminent threat of death or injury, then no one in Texas will be able to defend themselves in the future,” the lawyer says.
Sanders was unarmed, according to court records obtained by the outlet.
Sanders was described as a “devoted father” and “beloved fiancé” in a GoFundMe later set up in his honor, noting that his “greatest joy was his precious baby boy and his beautiful fiancée, Selena.”
“We are here for justice, just for Anthony, and also just to … just to stand for what he stood for as a person and also to bring awareness to what’s going on in today’s society here in Houston alone,” Frank Sanders, Anthony’s father, said.
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