Montrel Burley Charged in BTB Savage Shooting Death

Montrel Lenard Burley is a 40-year-old New Braunfels, Texas man charged with murder in the drive-by shooting of San Antonio rapper Darrell Gentry, known as BTB Savage, who was killed in Houston’s River Oaks area on March 30, 2023. Court documents describe the killing as gang-related retaliation for a shooting weeks earlier in which Gentry’s girlfriend had killed a close associate of Burley’s.¹

The Feud Behind the Killing

On February 3, 2023, two men tried to rob Gentry and his girlfriend at his downtown San Antonio apartment. One of the robbers, 34-year-old Omar Richardson, pulled a gun and demanded jewelry. Gentry’s girlfriend shot Richardson multiple times, killing him; Gentry was shot in the elbow. San Antonio police ruled the shooting self-defense and filed no charges.¹

Court documents describe Burley and Richardson as close friends and fellow original members of the San Antonio gang Stixx, which had branched into the Blood Stone Villains. Burley’s fiancée, Passion James, described the relationship as that of cousins and told detectives that Burley’s “cousin” had died in January or February, though she said she did not know the details.² After Richardson’s death, Gentry reported receiving threatening Instagram messages from Richardson’s family, according to his mother.¹

The Drive-By Shooting

Around 6:10 p.m. on March 30, 2023, Gentry was driving a white Mercedes northbound on Mid Lane near San Felipe Street in River Oaks. A black, newer-model Subaru SUV pulled alongside and its occupants opened fire. Gentry was struck and found dead outside the entrance of a nearby parking garage. Witnesses saw two suspects flee in the Subaru at high speed.³⁴

The Evidence Against Burley

Stationary license plate readers in Fayette County, between San Antonio and Houston, captured the black Subaru traveling eastbound toward Houston in the hours before the shooting and westbound toward San Antonio afterward. Investigators traced the vehicle to a rental agreement in Burley’s name, obtained from a San Antonio rental company days before the shooting.¹⁵

On March 31, New Braunfels SWAT officers stopped the rented Subaru. Burley was a passenger. Officers arrested him on a narcotics possession charge after a search of the vehicle, which also turned up a bullet casing described as similar to casings recovered at the Houston crime scene. James was detained on an unspecified misdemeanor. Burley was released from custody in New Braunfels; reporting noted it was unclear how or why, and police had not yet obtained the cell phone location data that would more firmly tie him to the shooting.⁶⁵

Investigators then obtained hour-by-hour cell records placing Burley’s phone in Houston near Gentry’s location on the night of March 29 and the morning of March 30, remaining in the general area throughout the day. After the shooting around 6 p.m., the phone was tracked heading back to Burley’s home in New Braunfels, arriving around 11 p.m.¹

Interviewed by New Braunfels and Houston detectives, James said she had woken up on March 30 and found Burley was not home, did not know where he had been, and that he returned around 8:30 p.m.²

Charge, Surrender, and Bail

Houston police formally charged Burley with murder on April 7, 2023, in the 208th State District Court. He was not in custody at that time.⁴ Four days later, on April 11, Burley surrendered at the Harris County Joint Processing Center, twelve days after the shooting.⁷

A judge set bail at $1 million. Conditions included remaining in Texas, wearing a GPS monitor if released, and undergoing an evaluation for mental illness or intellectual disability.¹

The Uncharged Second Suspect

Witnesses saw two people flee in the Subaru, and Houston police have said they believe at least one other person was involved. As of the last available public reporting, the second suspect had not been identified or charged, and HPD has continued to ask the public for information.⁷⁸

1
Houston Public Media. BTB Savage Murder Arrest: Montrel Burley Charged in Houston River Oaks Shooting
2
Houston Chronicle. BTB Savage Shooting Arrest: Montrel Burley Charged in Houston
3
KPRC (Click2Houston). Suspect Charged With Murder in Deadly Drive-By Shooting of Rapper Near River Oaks
4
City of Houston Police Department. HPD News Release: Suspect Charged in Fatal Shooting
5
ABC13. Man Charged in BTB Savage’s Murder Surrenders
6
MySanAntonio.com. BTB Savage Murder Arrest: Burley Turns Himself In
7
City of Houston Police Department. HPD News Release: Suspect Surrenders in Fatal Shooting
8
FOX 26 Houston. Montrel Lenard Burley Charged in Darrell Gentry Houston Shooting Murder