Michael Driver says he fired in self-defense during a late-night fight with longtime friend Jesse Reyes.

HOUSTON, Texas — A Houston criminal defense lawyer has been charged with murder after telling police that he shot and killed his roommate during a physical confrontation inside the home they shared, according to police and court records.

Michael Stuart Driver, 46, is accused of killing 48-year-old Jesse Reyes shortly before midnight June 27 at a residence in the 1600 block of Vassar Street. Houston police said Driver identified himself as the shooter when officers arrived. Driver’s attorneys contend that he acted to protect himself, while investigators concluded after reviewing the case that there was enough evidence to arrest him on a murder charge. The competing accounts place the circumstances of the struggle, rather than the identity of the shooter, at the center of the criminal case.

The Houston Police Department said patrol officers were sent to the home at about 11:55 p.m. after receiving a shooting call. A man flagged down the arriving officers and said he had been involved in a physical altercation before producing a firearm and discharging it. Police later identified that man as Driver. Houston Fire Department paramedics found Reyes wounded inside the residence and pronounced him dead at the scene. Police have said Reyes was struck once in the chest.

Driver had also called 911 after the shooting, according to court records cited by local news organizations. During that call, he said Reyes had been trying to gouge out his left eye. That statement became part of his claim that he faced an immediate threat when the gun was fired. Authorities have not publicly released a complete recording or transcript of the emergency call, detailed photographs from the scene, medical findings concerning Driver or a full account of what investigators believe happened before the men began fighting.

The first public police description of the case did not identify either man. It said only that two men who lived at the residence had become involved in an argument that turned physical and ended in a fatal shooting. Detectives continued investigating in the days that followed. On July 7, police announced that Driver had been arrested and charged with murder in the 232nd Criminal District Court. He was booked into the Harris County Jail and later released on a $150,000 bond.

The arrest did not settle the central factual dispute. Driver’s lawyers — Dick DeGuerin, Jed Silverman and Neal Davis — have described the shooting as self-defense. Silverman said the defense believes Driver is not guilty and that the evidence will support that position. Davis said the gun belonged to Reyes rather than Driver. Police have not publicly explained where the weapon was located before the struggle, who first gained control of it or what physical and forensic evidence led investigators to seek a murder charge.

Self-defense is evaluated through the circumstances surrounding the use of force, including what threat the person claimed to perceive and whether the response was legally justified. Driver’s admission that he fired the shot answers one basic question but leaves many others for prosecutors, defense lawyers and potentially a jury. The defense is expected to focus on Driver’s account of the physical attack and the ownership of the gun. Prosecutors would have to prove the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt while addressing the claim that the shooting was justified.

Driver and Reyes were connected in several ways before the shooting. Court records and interviews described them as roommates and longtime friends. Reyes was also identified as Driver’s bodyguard, and Driver had previously represented him as an attorney. The Houston Chronicle reported that Driver represented Reyes in a criminal case arising from allegations that Reyes displayed a gun during a March home break-in. Driver withdrew from that case in May, and another lawyer took over the representation.

Reyes, a tattoo artist, listed the Vassar Street property as his residence in a financial affidavit, according to the Chronicle. Driver also operated his law practice from the home, neighbors told ABC13. Several people reportedly stayed at the property, and visitors regularly came and went. Those circumstances may make statements from other residents, neighbors and recent visitors important as investigators try to establish the condition of the relationship and the events leading to the confrontation.

Accounts of that relationship have not been uniform. Silverman said it had sometimes been contentious, although he did not know what caused the argument on the night of the shooting. A woman who identified herself to ABC13 only as Angela and said she was a friend of both men offered a different view. She said she had seen them get along and had not witnessed serious arguments between them. Neighbors, however, reported occasional conflicts at the house, according to the station.

Reyes’ girlfriend told ABC13 that he had been preparing to move out of the home. She said she was relieved that authorities filed a charge and wanted Driver prosecuted. She also said Reyes left behind two young children. Her comments added a family perspective to a case that had initially been framed largely through the police account and Driver’s self-defense claim. Authorities have not disclosed whether Reyes had already moved any belongings or whether a planned move played any role in the argument.

The case has also created an institutional issue for local prosecutors. Driver’s brother, Stephen Driver, works for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and has been identified as a division chief and a candidate for a criminal district court judgeship. The office asked to be disqualified, saying an immediate relative of the defendant was one of its employees and that removing the office would support the orderly administration of justice.

Fort Bend County prosecutors were expected to be considered for appointment in place of the Harris County office. A similar conflict arose in a 2019 misdemeanor driving-while-intoxicated case involving Driver, according to the Chronicle. Harris County prosecutors withdrew from that matter because of the family relationship, and the charge was later dismissed. The prior dismissal does not determine the merits of the new murder case, but it helps explain why prosecutors sought outside handling soon after Driver’s arrest.

No grand jury decision, indictment, trial date or final ruling on the self-defense claim had been publicly announced in the reports reviewed for this article. Driver remains accused, not convicted, and his attorneys have said they expect the evidence to clear him. Police continue to ask anyone with information about the shooting to contact the department’s Homicide Division.

Author note: Last updated Aug. 3, 2026.