Actor Akili McDowell was often seen armed and dealing marijuana at his Houston apartment complex where he is accused of fatally shooting a man last month, neighbors told DailyMail.com.
The 21-year-old, who had roles on the Oprah Winfrey Network series David Makes Man and the Showtime drama Billions, was arrested and charged with the murder of 20-year-old Cesar Peralta on July 20 of last week.
McDowell is accused of shooting Peralta multiple times in the parking lot of the Thorntree Apartments, where the victim had lived with his girlfriend and her 1-year-old son.
Initial reports did not specify how McDowell was identified as a suspect or his connection to Peralta.
But neighbours and relatives told DailyMail.com that the budding actor was known as a small-time dealer nicknamed “the weed man” from whom Peralta had bought drugs moments before the fatal shooting.
Akili McDowell, who had roles on the Oprah Winfrey Network series David Makes Man and the Showtime drama Billions, was arrested and charged with murder last week.
The young actor is accused of fatally shooting Cesar Peralta, 20, on July 20 outside the Houston apartment complex where both men lived.
Speaking to DailyMail.com on Wednesday, Peralta’s sister, who also lives in the complex, said her brother was a mechanic who had come to the United States from Honduras when he was 11.
She revealed that Peralta was an aspiring rapper and met McDowell, who promised to connect him with his producer.
She confirmed reports that the young father of one had been buying marijuana from her at the time, during which she says McDowell shot him “for no reason.”
On the night of the shooting, prosecutors say Peralta had arrived at the complex in a car with another person and had been talking to McDowell outside.
The two then began a ‘fist fight’ during which McDowell allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Peralta once.
As Peralta attempted to return to his car, McDowell fired “again and again” before fleeing the scene, prosecutors said.
Peralta suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Since then his family has launched a GoFundMe to raise funds to give him a proper burial in his native Honduras.
Locals told DailyMail.com that McDowell had moved into a one-bedroom apartment in the complex in May and was seen conducting drug deals armed with a gun on his hip on multiple occasions.
Neighbour Robert Garretson, 72, a Vietnam veteran battling cancer, told DailyMail.com he often saw McDowell carrying a gun and revealed he had had his own tense encounter with him weeks earlier.
He said McDowell threatened him after Garretson complained about his friend parking in his assigned spot in the apartment’s parking lot.
“I often saw him with a black Glock on his waist,” Garretson said. “I’m not afraid of him. I survived Vietnam and now I have cancer. I’m not worried about dying.”
The veteran said he was in bed in his ground-floor apartment after receiving chemotherapy when he heard gunshots.
The young actor lived in the Thorntree apartment complex (pictured) in Houston, where he is accused of fatally shooting his neighbor Cesar Peralta on July 20.
Neighbors said the rising television star, who had moved into a one-bedroom apartment in the complex in May, was often seen armed with a gun holstered on his hip while conducting drug deals.
Neighbour Robert Garretson, 72, told DailyMail.com about his own tense encounter with McDowell weeks ago, after he complained about the actor parking in his allocated space.
He looked out the window and saw McDowell running back to his apartment.
“Moments later, I saw Akili with keys in hand running towards his car. He left the parking lot so fast that he almost collided with another car,” he added.
Another neighbor, who lived next door to McDowell and did not want to be identified, said his apartment and surrounding area smelled of marijuana “24/7.”
He said there were several people coming and going, mostly during the day, and he was constantly seen going up and down the stairs to meet customers in the parking lot.
The neighbor said she had also seen him on several occasions with the gun holstered on his hip.
Property management confirmed McDowell had moved into a one-bedroom unit for $940 a month after claiming to make $5,500 in income from a business called Kleening Kingz.
But court documents seen by DailyMail.com show he had filed paperwork stating he was not employed and was living with family members at a different address.
Property officials also said he had two confrontations with some elderly tenants in the complex for parking in the wrong spot and even threatened to kill one of them.
McDowell was arrested last Thursday at his family home, about two miles from the Thorntree Apartments. A woman who answered the door at the property declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com this week.
General view of McDowell’s family home, where he was arrested for murder last week.
McDowell is best known for playing David on OWN’s David Makes Man; he is pictured with executive producers Oprah Winfrey, Michael B. Jordan and Tarell Alvin McCraney at the 2019 premiere.
He was booked into Harris County Jail on murder and robbery charges and is being held on $400,000 bail.
Court documents indicate McDowell has been assigned a public defender who requested bail be set at $10,000. His next court date is Oct. 9.
According to court documents, McDowell was “charged with murder while out on bail for robbery, a charge stemming from a July 2023 misdemeanor case after McDowell allegedly stole a pair of headphones from a local Walmart.
Cherita Hogan, a fraud investigator on the case, told DailyMaill.com that McDowell had been arrested twice in a span of a few weeks last summer.
‘His first arrest was for some minor electronics, he was given a warning for trespassing and told not to return to the store,’ he said.
‘He initially gave police a false name and was told they would take his fingerprints to get his real name, at which point he told police his real name.
A few weeks later, Akili returned to the store, according to Hogan.
“He was seen in the electronics department taking some Apple Airpods. Store security went to the area to investigate and overheard them talking about him.”
He said McDowell, who was dressed in several layers of clothing, removed his jacket and shirt in an attempt to conceal his identity and change his appearance.
David Makes Man follows a 14-year-old boy named David from an inner city, “who is haunted by the death of his friend and who is relied upon by his working-class mother to find a way out of poverty.”
He guest-starred as Savion Williams in Billions in 2020; he is pictured here with Damien Lewis.
They eventually located him in the store and took him to the security office, where they found him with a crack pipe in his pockets, Hogan said.
“He didn’t say a word about the crack pipe. He was polite the whole time and of course denied robbing the store,” he added.
Hogan said he had no idea who he was until that arrest: ‘One of the Walmart security guards went to the high school with Akili and recognized him.
She said part of her is shocked by his arrest for murder, adding: “But then again, you never know what someone is capable of.”
McDowell’s manager, Jonell Whitt, told Law & Crime that the arrest was “an unfortunate situation and I am praying for Akili and those affected by this tragedy.”
‘I respectfully have no comment to make at this time.’
McDowell is known for playing David on OWN’s David Makes Man, which followed a 14-year-old boy named David from an inner city “who is haunted by the death of his friend and who is relied upon by his working-class mother to find a way out of poverty.”
The show was executive produced by broadcasting icon Oprah Winfrey and actor Michael B. Jordan and ran for two seasons. It received a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Drama Series in 2019.
He guest-starred as Savion Williams on Billions in 2020, as well as the role of Zavier Gibbs on The Astronaut Wives Club.
Last month, his most recent project, The Waterboyz, was among the winners of this year’s Best of ABFF awards at the American Black Film Festival.