Akili McDowell, Who Starred on Oprah-Produced David Makes Man, Arrested for Murder

News By TooFab Staff |
Harris County Sheriff's Department

McDowell played the titular character on OWN's David Makes Man and appeared on Billions; over the weekend he was charged with murder in the shooting death of a 20-year-old man.

Akili McDowell, who got his big break starring on the Oprah Winfrey-produced series David Makes Man, has been charged with murder in Texas.

According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, the investigation began on July 20, 2024, when deputies responded to the parking lot of an apartment complex and found an adult male in his 20s suffering gunshot wounds.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, with authorities saying they believed the shooter "fled."

Over the weekend, authorities gave an update on the case -- with the sheriff announcing McDowell, 21, had been charged with murder of the victim, who was named as 20-year-old Cesar Peralta.

"McDowell was recently taken into custody and booked into the Harris County Jail," added authorities, saying the investigation was on-going.

Per online jail records, he's being held on $400,000 bond. The records also say he's facing a theft charge -- though Law&Crime says that charge appears to be connected to a July 2023 case after he allegedly stole a pair of headphones.

He has a court appearance scheduled for today. It's unclear how he was connected to the shooting death of Peralta or whether he's entered a plea.

McDowell's manager, meanwhile, told Law&Crime: "This is an unfortunate situation and I am in prayer for Akili and those impacted by this tragedy. I respectfully have no comment at this time."

David Makes Man ran for two seasons on OWN from 2019-2021. McDowell also appeared on Billions, The Astronaut Wives Club and the 2024 movie The Waterboyz.