This article delves into two separate and tragic incidents that occurred in Lubbock, Texas, both involving men named Chad Reed. One case revolves around a deadly shooting during a domestic dispute, while the other concerns a man with the same name who lost his life in a drug-related incident.
Case 1: The Shooting of Chad Read
A domestic dispute which turned deadly has now sparked a wrongful death lawsuit by the widow of the man shot. At the heart of the lawsuit is the claim that the killing was unjustified and was the result of a child custody dispute between the victim 54-year-old Chad Read, his ex-wife Christina Read, and Christina Read’s boyfriend Kyle Carruth. On November 5, 2021, Read was shot during an argument with William Kyle Carruth.
Scene of the shooting of Chad Read
Chad Read showed up at a residence in Lubbock, Texas on November 5 with his wife Jennifer Read to pick up Chad Read’s son who was with his ex-wife Christina Read and her boyfriend Kyle Carruth. Jennifer Read stayed in her vehicle and recorded the incident. The video opens with Kyle Carruth appearing to interject himself into a heated verbal disagreement between Chad Read and his ex-wife. As Read is talking to his ex-wife, Carruth can be heard telling Chad Read to get off his property.
Chad Read is heard telling his ex-wife that his son was supposed to be ready by 3:15. Christina Read can be heard explaining that their child was not at the residence and that she did not follow the court order because she wanted to see her son. If you want to see him, you see him up until 3:15. Chad Read goes on to threaten subpoenas against several individuals including Carruth’s estranged wife Ann-Marie Carruth and Christina Read’s mother.
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As Read continues with his threats of legal action, Kyle Carruth can be seen in the video emerging from the residence with a shotgun-style rifle. Moments later, Carruth aims and shoots the gun at Chad Read’s feet in an effort to get him to leave. The men square up and before Carruth jumps away from Read as Read tries to grab for the gun.
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - No charges will be filed against Kyle Carruth after the Attorney General’s Office convened a grand jury in the death of Chad Read. The presentation of the case included several eyewitnesses, the family of Chad Read, and additional evidence that was not previously released to the public. After several days of a thorough inspection of the evidence, the Special Grand Jury concluded their investigation into the matter and deliberated on whether the evidence supported the filing of criminal charges against Kyle Carruth. The Special Grand Jury voted today to not indict for any criminal charges against Kyle Carruth.
The statement Tony Buzbee from The Buzbee Law Firm representing Chad Read’s widow made public regarding the grand jury decision in the Kyle Carruth case:”The criminal justice utterly failed Jennifer Read, the widow of Chad Read. Chad Read was involved in a heated discussion with his ex-wife concerning custody of his son. The video shows that Kyle Carruth injected himself into that discussion. We believe there was no legitimate reason for Kyle Carruth to bring a deadly weapon to an argument that he wasn’t even a part of. Chad Read died unarmed, shot, and killed while simply trying to determine the whereabouts of his son. The civil matter has been on hold awaiting the outcome of the criminal proceedings. We will now aggressively pursue Jennifer Read’s claims in civil court.”
Meanwhile, David Guinn of the Lubbock law firm of Hurley, Guinn & Singh representing Carruth said:“First, Kyle wishes comfort and grace to all those close to Chad Read. The loss of life is painful. His deepest sympathies go out to them. Second, we are appreciative of the wise decision of this extremely hard-working, independent, Grand Jury. Rarely does a Grand Jury work for three days on one case alone. Those Lubbock citizens must have learned everything imaginable about every aspect of the case and the people involved. They reviewed a thorough investigation from both the Lubbock Police Department and the Texas Attorney General’s Office, who were complete professionals. I think, between the three prosecutors, there was over 60 years of experience on the case. The two investigators probably have that much as well. People should have great confidence in Grand Jury’s decision. The Texas Judicial System worked like it should. Kyle remains humble and regrets this ordeal beyond words.”
Timeline of Events
- November 5, 2021: Lubbock Police found Chad Read, 54, dead at a home in the 2100 block of 90th street.
- November 5, 2021: Officials with the police desk told KCBD on November 5 a woman called 911 saying someone shot and killed her husband over custody issues.
- November 10, 2021: The Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office recused itself from the case.
- November 16, 2021: The police department transferred its case files to the Texas Attorney General for its review.
- November 19, 2021: A court document identified Kyle Carruth as the shooter in the case.
- November 24, 2021: Jennifer Read released mobile phone video that shows the argument, and Carruth going into the home then returning armed.
- November 29, 2021: Jennifer Read, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Kyle Carruth and his company Vitruvian Development LLC.
- December 6, 2021: An attorney representing Chad Read’s mother and three children filed a lawsuit against William Kyle Carruth and his companies.
- December 7, 2021: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his office has begun a criminal investigation into the death of Chad Read.
- December 9, 2021: Chad Read’s widow and her attorney held a news conference to discuss the case, the amended wrongful death lawsuit, and the investigation now being conducted by the Attorney General’s office.
- January 5, 2022: The court has dismissed a child custody suit where Jennifer Read, Chad Read’s widow, was seeking custody of Chad’s children from their mother Christina Read.
Weeks after the shooting, Jennifer Read came forward with her attorney Tony Buzbee to plead for justice for the death of her husband. Jennifer Read has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit and pled for Kyle Carruth to be arrested. Buzbee shared during the conference, “Jennifer Read watched her unarmed husband get gunned down and killed in front of her eyes. We want action.” When Read addressed the crowd of about 30 people, she explained, “We only went there to try and find his son who we thought would be there.” She added, “Chad was not a violent man. The press conference and wrongful death suit are the latest attempts by Jennifer Read to get justice for her husband’s death.
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Shortly following the shooting, Jennifer Read filed a petition to seek custody of Christina Reed's two boys, aged 9 and 14. In her petition, Jennifer Read details, "Christina's decision to allow either of these children to be in Kyle Carruth's presence has caused, and continues to cause, significant impairment of their emotional well-being. The oldest child has expressed to me that he blames his mother for the shooting and that he will run away from home if he sees Kyle there again." Jennifer Read adds, “It is in the best interest of the children to be removed from Christina Read, and that her contact with the children be denied or at least restricted.
Jennifer Read’s lawsuit names Kyle Carruth and his businesses and seeks $50 million in damages. Kyle Carruth is also the subject of another lawsuit filed by an attorney representing Chad Read’s mother and three children.
Carruth was not immediately identified after the shooting. His name was only released after a court affidavit signed on November 8 by Judge Ann-Marie Carruth was released as part of her countersuit in the couple’s divorce proceedings. Ann-Marie Carruth wrote that she was “notified that my husband, William Kyle Carruth, is under investigation for the shooting and killing of his girlfriend’s children’s father after he attempted to pick up his children late Friday afternoon. The couple filed for divorce in September, with the divorce being finalized on November 19.
Attorney Lowry says that for parents in a custodial dispute, the court is the solution, not confrontation. “If a custodial parent is not surrendering the child at the time and place ordered,” Lowry explains, “you can file an enforcement in the family court.” Lowry goes on to explain, “In an enforcement, the court can find a person in contempt of court for failing to obey a court order.” Lowry cautions, though, that enforcement requires the petition and order to be very specific, and it is easy to lose the case for a seemingly small reason. “Your attorney can avoid problems that you wouldn’t even see,” she says. If a parent is told by the other parent that the child will not be going, Lowry advises that the parent should still go to the exchange point at the proper time and place in case the other parent shows up and to document if they don’t.
Finally, Lowry points out what should have been obvious at the start: guns have no place in a custody dispute. “No one should ever get into an argument or fight at a custody exchange,” reminds Lowry.
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Custody Exchange
There have been no criminal charges or arrests in this case.
Case 2: The Murder of Chad Reed
Chad Kendrick Reed, 45, of Lubbock, Texas, passed on July 11, 2023. A Lubbock man arrested in connection with a deadly shooting last month has been indicted by a grand jury on a murder charge. Antoine Manahan, 36, was indicted by a Lubbock County grand jury on Tuesday - about two weeks after he was arrested in Arlington in connection with the July 11 shooting of 45-year-old Chad Reed. Manahan remained in the Lubbock County Detention Center as of Tuesday. His bond is set at $500,000. Avery White was also charged in the killing, and her bond was set at $250,000.
Antoine Manahan
The two were arrested in the Metroplex and were held at the Tarrant County Jail while they await extradition to Lubbock. They each face a charge of murder in connection with the shooting. The charge is a first-degree felony that carries a punishment of five years to life in prison.
Shortly after their arrest, the Avalanche-Journal reported that court documents show a disagreement about a marijuana transaction may have resulted in the deadly shooting at an East Lubbock home. The charge stems from a Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit investigation that began after Lubbock police officers were dispatched to a shots fired call at a home in the 1900 block of East Auburn Street.
A witness told officers that a man was shot inside the home and the shooter fled the scene. Responding officers found Reed suffering from a gunshot wound, and he had died at the scene. Investigators received information that the shooter was a Black man who went by the alias "Tweezy," a street name that was also associated with Manahan, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Security camera footage from neighboring homes showed what appeared to be a Black man run into a white 1997 Lexus passenger car about 10 minutes after the shooting. The man on the video appeared to have a thin build, was bald and had multiple tattoos on both arms. Investigators believed the man on the video resembled Manahan. The car could be seen driving in the area of the shooting multiple times in the minutes leading up to the shooting. The video showed the suspected shooter leave the vehicle in a black, "puffy" coat and a ski mask.
Meanwhile, officers with the Texas Anti-Gang unit found Manahan and White in a 1997 Lexus passenger car in the 3900 block of Idalou Road about an hour after the shooting. Both agreed to speak with detectives and were interviewed separately.
Manahan reportedly told detectives he made several marijuana deliveries in the city earlier in the day. He also admitted to selling Reed marijuana within 24 hours of the shooting, the affidavit stated. During her interview with detectives, it was determined White was being deceptive, the affidavit stated. The two were released. However, investigators learned through a confidential informant that White had personal knowledge of the shooting, the record states. White, who owned the Lexus, reportedly told the informant that she was with Manahan during the shooting and saw him enter Reed's home to confront him about a disagreement they had about a marijuana transaction. The informant told detectives that White reportedly said Manahan returned to the vehicle with blood on his shoes, the affidavit stated.
Meanwhile, forensic investigators found a greasy substance in Reed's home that appeared to make a trail to the sidewalk and ended on an adjacent street to the west of the home. Investigators found a similar substance inside White's Lexus, the affidavit stated. Detectives obtained a warrant for Manahan's arrest on July 12.
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - 38-year-old Antoine Manahan was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to the shooting death of Chad Reed. On July 11, 2023, Lubbock police received a call for shots fired in the area of E. Auburn St. and Zenith Ave. When officers arrived, they found Reed dead inside of his home. Manahan fled the scene and LPD asked for the public’s help to find him. 10 days later, Manahan was found in Arlington after multiple agencies assisted with the investigation. Manahan must serve half of his sentence before he will be eligible for parole.
Chad attended Lubbock Independent School District. Chad married the love of his life Shikazulyn Reed on May 3, 2006. He loved spending time with his close family and friends. His personality was infectious and could light up any room. Chad was very well loved and will be greatly missed by his family and all he came in contact with. He is preceded in death by his parents, Michael Baucham and Bonnie Reed; grandmother, Roberta Hightower; two uncles; and two aunts.
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