Houston Chef Fatally Shot While Feeding Homeless Outside Hotel, Suspect Charged With Capital Murder

John Donat, 58, was shot dead near a Houston hotel while distributing food to the homeless. Suspect Otis Parks, 30, faces capital murder charges.

Houston chef killed after refusing to hand over money while feeding homeless

John Donat, 58, was shot to death in the early hours of Wednesday morning outside a hotel in the 2100 block of South Highway 6 in Houston, Texas, Law & Crime reports. He had been distributing food to people from his Chevrolet Tahoe at the time of the attack.

Houston police responded to the scene around 2:20 a.m. after reports of a shooting. Officers found Donat on the ground with a gunshot wound; paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. His Tahoe had crashed through a wooden fence in the hotel parking lot.

Otis Parks, 30, was arrested and charged with capital murder. According to a Houston Police Department press release, Parks matched the description provided by witnesses at the scene.

A woman who was present told officers she watched a man approach the passenger side of the Tahoe and demand money. She was walking away when she heard gunshots and the vehicle struck the fence.

Donat was a South Carolina native, a father of two, and a trained chef who lived at the long-term stay hotel where he was killed, according to his son Nick Donat, who spoke to Houston CBS affiliate KHOU. Nick said his father regularly collected food from local banks, cooked it, and brought it out to people in need — a routine he had maintained for years.

"He is a very helpful person," Nick Donat told the station. "He's been doing this a lot over the past couple of years."

A GoFundMe set up following the shooting describes Donat as someone who had personally struggled with drug addiction and felt a particular connection to others fighting the same battle. His son said the loss has been devastating.

"That person did a terrible thing to someone I love and trust and depend on," Nick Donat said.

Parks is being held at Harris County Jail on a $250,000 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for December 14.

Source: Law & Crime