Actor AKILI McDOWELL arrested and charged with murder of a man in Houston parking lot

Tuesday, August 6, 2024 - American actor, Akili McDowell has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of a 20-year-old man in Houston, Texas on July 20.

The Billions actor, 21, was booked into the Harris County Jail on Thursday, August 1 on charges of murder and theft.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office confirmed McDowell had been charged with the mu¥der of Cesar Peralta in a social media post on August 3.

Deputies responded to an incident that occurred in the parking lot of an apartment complex at 13503 North Thorntree, near Wallisville and Uvalde in East Harris County around 9.15pm.

The post read: 'An adult male (possibly in his 20s) sustained gunshot wounds and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Suspect(s) fled the scene.'

An update to the post read: 'Homicide Investigators charged Akili McDowell (21) with murder in the shooting de@th of Cesar Peralta (20). McDowell was recently taken into custody and booked into the Harris County Jail.'

'The investigation is on-going and we encourage anyone with info to contact the Homicide Unit at 713-274-9100.'

Peralta was not armed.

Per online jail records, McDowell is being held on $400,000 bond for the murder charge and has a court appearance scheduled for Monday, August 5.

Per Click2Houston, his bond is set at $210 for the theft offense.

He has a further court date appearance scheduled for August 6 for the theft charge, and an additional date on October 9 for the murder charge.

McDowell’s manager Jonell Whitt told Law&Crime the arrest was a 'an unfortunate situation and I am in prayer for Akili and those impacted by this tragedy.

'I respectfully have no comment at this time.'

Jail records obtained by the publication show the theft charge appears to be connected to a misdemeanor case from July 2023 after McDowell allegedly stole a pair of headphones. 

Documents stated that he was 'charged with murder while on bond for theft.'

McDowell is known for starring as David in OWN's David Makes Man which followed a 14-year-old named David from the projects 'who is haunted by the death of his friend and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty.'