A friend of a Black man who was shot by a Texas homeowner last month has disputed the narrative provide by the shooter in the 911 call and is calling for a thorough investigation.
Wesley Jermaine Gobert, 45, was fatally shot by 48-year-old Ashley Sikes inside her Houston home in the 1900 block of Larchmont at around 11:30 p.m. on June 23.
According to Dick DeGuerin, an attorney for Sikes, the woman protecting herself when she shot Gobert.
“It was absolutely self-defense,” he told ABC13.
But according to Christopher Wiggins, who grew up with Gobert, Sikes lied about her relationship with Gobert in a 911 call. While Sikes told a dispatcher Gobert was “a friend of a friend” who was being allowed to stay at the home as a favor, Wiggins said Sikes and Gobert had been in a relationship for several months and that he was living there at the time.
“Clearly this wasn’t some Black guy who just came up and stayed there,” said Wiggins. “This was somebody who actually lived there, who’s actually in a relationship with this young lady.”
On the night of the shooting, police received two phone calls in a period of three minutes, from someone asking for help with a houseguest.
“Officers arrived on-scene three minutes from the original call and discovered an injured person in the front of the residence,” said a statement sent to homeowners in the neighborhood.
According to investigators, Gobert and Sikes got into a physical altercation after she asked him to leave. Authorities say Gobert left the residence, then returned and threw Sikes to the ground.
A security camera captured Gobert leaving the home, then returning. Police say he next proceeded to leave but when he turned back toward Sikes she got up and shot him. Footage shows Gobert stumbling out of the home. When police arrived they found Gobert outside of the home, injured. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police questioned Sikes but did not arrest her. She is not yet facing any charges and the case is being referred to a grand jury.
Defense attorney Stephen Aslett told ABC13 that the castle doctrine can’t be applied to the case.
“Castle doctrine is typically when someone breaks into your house,” said Aslett. “A stranger-breaking-into-the house-in-the-middle-of-the-night type of situation.”
He noted that whatever transpired in the home was not captured on camera, and posed several questions.
“Finding out exactly what their relationship was — had they acted aggressively before?” Aslett said. “Were there ongoing issues between them? What did she initially tell the police? Did her story change? Did it make any sense? What, if any, physical evidence is in the house to suggest she feared for her life?”
Sikes is a part of a prominent San Antonio family. Her mother, Julianna Holt, was the chairwoman of the San Antonio Spurs from 2016 to 2019, and her brother, Peter J. Holt, is the current chairman of the Spurs organization.
Sikes has had several brushes with the law in the past, including two DWIs and multiple charges for drug possession.
