BAYOU VISTA
The man killed in a Wednesday afternoon shooting in Texas City was the owner of a popular neighborhood restaurant in Bayou Vista.
Greg Sharretts, 67, was shot and killed near the intersection of state Highway 3 and 25th Avenue North just before 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Texas City Police Department.
Sharretts was identified as the victim Thursday morning. At the same time, police announced they had arrested a 23-year-old man and charged him with murder in connection to Sharretts’ death.
Messiah James Pickens-McCoy, of Texas City, was being held without bond Thursday morning at the Galveston County Jail. He also was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and evading arrest, according to jail records.
His bond was denied in all three charges, according to jail records.
Pickens-McCoy was taken into custody during a traffic stop shortly after the shooting, police said. Police said a second person was taken into custody at the same time but, as of Thursday morning, Pickens-McCoy was the only person charged in the shooting.
Police haven’t commented on a suspected motive for the shooting, and a department spokesman declined to say whether it was believed to be targeted or a random act of violence.
Sharretts was well known in the Bayou Vista community as the owner of the Bayou Bistro, a small restaurant just off of state Highway 6. Before opening the Bayou Bistro in 2006, Sharretts owned and operated the former Ocean Grill on Seawall Boulevard.
Employees at Bayou Bistro restaurant, where about two dozen people work, said they learned of Sharretts’ death Wednesday night.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more information.
John Wayne Ferguson: 409-683-5226; john.ferguson@galvnews.com or on Twitter @johnwferguson.