Fayette County Sheriff's Office Lt. David Beyer identified the man who died by suicide after an armed standoff at St. Martin's Catholic Church near Round Top as Djone Reeves, 56, of Houston. The standoff happened Tuesday, Oct. 27, along State Highway 237.
The sheriff's office said Reeves was wanted for questioning in the death of Arik Lerner, 59, a Round Top antique dealer from San Diego, California. Beyer said the two men were acquaintances and that the homicide investigation remains open. He said it involved a woman. The Travis County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Lerner's death a homicide from a gunshot wound. Deputies found Lerner in a driveway on Oct. 22.
According to the sheriff's office, a rideshare driver reported that Reeves held him at gunpoint and forced him to drive from Houston to the church. The driver was released and was not physically injured. Court records show Reeves had a criminal history going back nearly 40 years, including a 1987 attempted murder conviction in Galveston County.