Gregory Wiltz was a 53-year-old Black man and a long-time corner-store owner on Houston’s East Side. On the evening of January 26, 2021, police say he left his store and went to the 700 block of Fidelity Street near Delaware to meet an unknown person. Around 8:25 p.m. gunfire erupted; officers and paramedics found Wiltz inside a newer black Chevrolet pickup. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene. Neighbors reported hearing at least eight shots and witnesses described several people running from the area and leaving in two vehicles.

Investigators initially said little about the planned meeting or a motive and considered the possibility of multiple shooters. Michael Richardson was later publicly identified as the accused shooter; reporting says he had an extensive felony record and was free on bond in another felon-in-possession case when Wiltz was killed. Richardson was arrested, faced state murder and aggravated-robbery accusations with high bonds that were later reduced, posted bond and was released in July 2022, then failed to appear and was located in federal immigration custody. By February 2023 Richardson was reported in federal custody as part of a firearms enforcement initiative; no other person was publicly identified as charged in the shooting, and reporting through 2026 does not show a completed trial, plea, or conviction in the Wiltz murder charge.

Did anyone in the neighborhood know why Wiltz was meeting someone that night or recognize the vehicles people ran off in?