Houston police believe the shooting death of 33‑year‑old Sherry Dawson at a northeast Houston self‑storage unit was tied to a six‑figure drug deal gone sour, authorities said. The case has taken a shocking turn as 57‑year‑old Kip Stitts of Detroit was charged with murder last week, though he remains at large.
On the morning of November 5, 2025, officers responded around 10:15 a.m. to reports of gunfire at a self‑storage facility along the Eastex Freeway in northeast Houston. They found Dawson lying inside the complex with multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Surveillance cameras at the storage lot captured Dawson arriving in her car that morning. Video showed a white Ford F‑250 pickup truck closely following her into the unit before the gate closed. The footage then showed a brief struggle between Dawson and someone believed to be the driver, after which she fell to the ground. The pickup sped away shortly after.
While investigators were processing the scene, Dawson’s common‑law husband arrived and told police she had come to the storage unit to pick up some items. He was visibly shaken and immediately told officers he believed he knew who was behind the shooting and why.
In court documents, the husband admitted he was involved in drug trafficking as a middleman. He explained to detectives that his role was to collect money from buyers and pass it to a supplier who would then deliver the drugs. In this case, he had introduced Stitts to a supplier for a large cocaine purchase.
According to the charging papers, Stitts told detectives he planned to rob the supplier. The husband then warned the supplier, who allegedly plotted to set Stitts up and take his money as punishment. Stitts handed over $125,000, but the drugs never arrived. The middleman kept $10,000 of that money and blocked Stitts’ phone number. A few weeks later, investigators say, Dawson was shot and killed.
Harris County prosecutors filed murder charges against Stitts in mid‑January 2026. They allege cellphone data linked his device to key locations before and after the shooting, including surveillance near the storage unit and travel back to Detroit by the evening of the attack. Stitts has a history of convictions for drug and weapons offenses, and prosecutors have urged a $1 million bond in the case.
The Houston Police Department continues to search for Stitts and asks anyone with information to contact homicide detectives or Crime Stoppers.
