FATHER: DRUG MONEY FATAL FOR SON

The lure of fast money from drugs, and plenty of it, was too tempting for
Danny Bridges' teenage son, and Bridges knew it. But he still warned his
son to stay away from narcotics.

"I tried to get him to stop, but the money was too good," Bridges said.
"Justin didn't listen to me, now he's dead."

Harris County sheriff's deputies on Wednesday found the 18-year-old dead,
likely, they said, from a drug deal gone bad.

Deputies went to Justin Bridges' apartment in the 8600 block of Easton
Commons about 1 p.m. to investigate a shooting. Detectives found marijuana
inside and suspect it might be related to the shooting.

"It probably started out as a drug transaction," said Lt. Danny Billingsley
with the homicide division. The victim's girlfriend told deputies that four
men broke into the apartment and shot Bridges.

"She said she heard the shots but didn't see how it happened," Billingsley
said.

The attackers fled, but apparently were wounded during a struggle inside
the apartment. Detectives said two men who showed up at area hospitals with
stab wounds soon after the shooting may be among the culprits.

"There's no doubt that all these are related," Billingsley said.

Danny Bridges said his son had a good heart but he acknowledged that their
relationship had been troubled in the past. "I raised him myself since
1990. I did the best I could," he said.

Bridges said his son sent him a Christmas card last month that said he
loved him.

"That really touched me," he said.