NEW YORK, NY.- Akili McDowell, an actor who starred in the television series “David Makes Man,” has been charged with murder in the July shooting death of a man in the parking lot of a Houston apartment complex, authorities said.
McDowell, 21, was arrested and charged Thursday with the murder of Cesar Peralta, 20, according to a criminal complaint.
McDowell is being held on $400,000 bond at the Harris County jail and is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 9. A lawyer for McDowell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jonell Whitt, McDowell’s manager, offered prayers to the victim’s family and to McDowell. She declined to comment further Monday evening.
Harris County sheriff deputies responded to reports of a shooting on July 20 in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Houston, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies arrived to find an adult male, who has since been identified as Peralta, unresponsive from apparent gunshot wounds. Emergency medical workers pronounced him dead at the scene. Authorities said that deputies spoke with several witnesses who reported seeing the victim in a fight with an unidentified male, who fled on foot immediately after the shooting.
“David Makes Man” follows David, played by McDowell, as he navigates life in a housing project in South Florida while trying to succeed as one of the few Black students at his magnet school. The show, which aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network, was tinged with magical realism and explored its characters’ inner lives. It was created and written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, known for his Tony-nominated play “Choir Boy” and as a writer of the Oscar-winning film “Moonlight.”
According to the website IMDb, McDowell appeared this year in “The Waterboyz,” a film about two young men whose paths cross while trying to make it in Atlanta. He also appeared in the 2015 film “Criminal Activities,” a crime yarn starring John Travolta; and in the television shows “Billions” and “The Astronaut Wives Club.”
This article originally appeared in
The New York Times.
