The gun that killed an 11-year-old-boy inside his south Houston home Wednesday night did not belong to his mother — as Houston police were initially told — but to the woman's boyfriend, authorities said.
La Torick Watson was fatally shot by his older brother about 7:30 p.m. while the 13-year-old was playing with a pistol in an upstairs room at the family's home in the 800 block of Blanchard Hill Lane.
At first, La Torick's mother and her boyfriend — Ronnie Dewayne Brown, 23 — told Houston police the boys were searching for a ringing telephone when they jostled a backpack containing a 9mm pistol belonging to the woman. They said the gun went off, striking La Torick in the head.
The story began to unravel as Houston police homicide detectives continued their investigation.
“For whatever reason, they wanted (the mother's) gun to be involved and not his (Brown's),” said J.T. Barringer, a Houston police homicide detective.
“Maybe she didn't want her boyfriend to get involved. I'm not sure,” Barringer said.
Boyfriend hid his pistol
The backpack and a 9mm pistol were lying on a bed in the master bedroom when police arrived.
The backpack did not have a bullet hole in it.
“There was only a naturally worn hole, like you get in the bottom of a backpack when it's used a lot,” Barringer said.
After La Torick was struck, Brown took his pistol, a .40 caliber semi-automatic, and hid it inside the trunk of his car — which he then parked next door, Houston police said.
Later that night, Brown admitted that the gun used to shoot La Torick belonged to him, police said.
“We knew it was an accidental shooting. We weren't suspicious of him at all,” Barringer said.
Police said they don't have any reason to believe Brown's pistol can be linked to any crimes. “But we're going to run the gun through to see if anything pops up,” Barringer said.
With La Torick lying dead, Barringer believes the family may have simply panicked as police arrived at the scene.
“I don't understand why they would have gone through those lengths to protect the boyfriend,” Barringer said.
Brown is now in custody, charged with tampering with evidence, Barringer said Thursday. Bail was set at $5,000 this morning in a hearing, where it also was revealed that he was free on $500 bail on an assault charge out of Jefferson County.
The rest of the case — including any possible charges for leaving a weapon within reach of children or fabricating the initial account of what happened — has been referred to a Harris County grand jury, Barringer said.
Police said both pistols — the mother's 9mm and Brown's .40-caliber — were kept in the home for protection.
Neighbors said several houses in the area had recently been burglarized.
La Torick's family members on Thursday could not be reached for comment.
Boy's birthday today
About a dozen stuffed animals and some flowers were left on the lawn of the home as a memorial to the little boy who attended Almeda Elementary School.
Delisia Harris, who lives across the street, said La Torick would have turned 12 today.
“He was just the most outgoing boy. He was always running around,” Harris said.
La Torick always enjoyed walking the family's dog — a pit bull — and defending the breed's reputation to frightened neighbors.
“He'd always say, ‘This dog isn't going to hurt you,' ” Harris said.
Neighbors said La Torick's family has lived in the two-story brick home for about two years. Harris said the boy's mother is a caring woman who never neglected her children.
“Those kids didn't want for anything,” Harris said.
Chronicle staffer Dale Lezon contributed to this story.
mike.glenn@chron.com 
