Bryan man charged with m::urder in shooting de::aths of mother, stepfather

The suspect was found in the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant an hour after the murders

The man accused of fatally shooting his own mother and stepfather on Saturday at a Brazos County home is refusing to cooperate with investigators, according to documents obtained by KBTX.

Deputies say Ezekiel William Barajas, who turned 32 on Friday, shot his mother, Nancy Winn, 52, multiple times, along with his stepfather, Gerald “Jerry” Winn, 61.

Deputies were dispatched just after 5 p.m. to the couple’s home in the 6300 block of Steep Hollow Circle, off FM 1179 on the east side of Brazos County, after receiving a 911 call from Nancy Winn.

A Bryan man is facing murder charges for the shooting deaths of his mother and stepfather on Saturday in Brazos County. He was arrested less than an hour after the homicides outside a fast-food restaurant.(Crime scene photo by: Rusty Surette / Arrest photo courtesy: Selena Cruz / Mug shot provided by Brazos County Sheriff’s Office)

In the call, she told dispatchers she had been shot and identified her son, Ezekiel, as the shooter. She reported that he did not live at the residence and that she did not know where he went after the shooting.

According to an arrest report, Nancy Winn told dispatchers that she and her husband were eating when Ezekiel shot both of them. She said there was no argument or physical altercation before the gunfire and that she did not know why the shooting occurred.

Nancy placed the 911 call from a locked bedroom at the back of the home.

About 15 minutes after the 911 call, first responders made entry into the home and found Nancy in the bedroom and Jerry in the hallway. Both were rushed to a hospital, where they later died from their injuries.

Less than an hour after the shooting, around 6 p.m., officers with the Bryan Police Department located Barajas in a Honda Accord in the drive-thru of Raising Cane’s on Briarcrest Drive. He was detained by Bryan police and DPS troopers until Brazos County deputies arrived.

Investigators say Barajas declined to answer questions after being taken to headquarters and did not provide a motive for the shooting. Deputies reported that the suspected murder weapon was recovered from the vehicle where Barajas was detained.

Barajas is being held in jail and is charged with Capital Murder of Multiple Persons, with a bond set at $500,000.

Online jail records in Brazos County show Barajas has only been arrested one other time, in 2018, for a criminal trespass charge. That case was dismissed.

The Winns were well known in the community and contributed countless hours of work to mental health and substance abuse counseling, including with NAMI Brazos Valley.

Together, they ran the 3rd Day Treatment Center in Brazos County.

“My one true concern is that I make a positive and healthy difference in the lives of those with whom I work,” said Jerry on the center’s website.

“I liked the idea of getting to kids before they started living unhealthy lifestyles, and providing them the skills of making healthy lifestyle choices instead,” said Nancy, speaking about the work she did with students and families.