Houston couple in viral Snapchat shooting video expected in court

Police officers search Michael Anthony Cuellar, 29, in the 351st court at the Harris County Juvenile Courthouse before leading him out to a police car after he turned himself in after being identified as one of the shooters in a now-viral Snapchat video Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Houston. The video allegedly showed Cuellar and a passenger, Sierra Tarbutton, shooting from a car near the 15800 block of Memorial Drive. less Police officers search Michael Anthony Cuellar, 29, in the 351st court at the Harris County Juvenile Courthouse before leading him out to a police car after he turned himself in after being identified as one of ... more Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Houston couple in viral Snapchat shooting video expected in court 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

A Houston rapper and a woman seen shooting a gun from a moving vehicle in a now-viral Snapchat video are behind bars after turning themselves over the past 24 hours.

Police charged Michael Anthony Cuellar, 29, and Sierra Tarbutton, 27, with felony criminal mischief and deadly conduct Monday after obtaining video of the two apparently shooting blindly into a neighborhood as they drove through in the early morning hours of Sept. 26.

Cuellar, wearing a black hoodie sweatshirt, appeared in state District Judge George Powell's court Tuesday morning. Half-dozen police officers and sheriff's deputies, some heavily armed with the courthouse emergency response team, took Cuellar into custody and transported him to the Harris County Jail.

Tarbutton turned herself in late Monday and remains in jail.

Paul Looney, an attorney for the couple, said they turned themselves in because they have been "villainized" by media reports about the viral video.

"It's just not nearly as horrifying a story as it looks to be on the surface," he said about Cuellar. "This is not somebody the public needs to be afraid of."

The defense attorney disputed police allegations that Cuellar is a drug dealer. He said the 29-year-old is a family man who has a relationship with his children, including coaching youth soccer.

"I think there's going to be more gentle side to this than it appears," he said. "He's a really great guy."

Looney noted that the area in which the couple allegedly fired shots had been evacuated or was practically deserted because of Hurricane Harvey.

The video clips posted on the social media platform Snapchat apparently show the couple smiling as they fire more than a dozen shots into a neighborhood near the 15800 block of Memorial Drive. The two were identified after police compared the videos to other social media accounts and law enforcement search engines, according to court records.

The arrest warrants for the couple show that both have had run-ins with the law. According the court records, Cuellar is a local rapper who goes by the name "Money Mike." The arrest warrant alleged that he is a known drug dealer.

Tarbutton, who was on probation on a charge of retaliation against a public servant, admitted guilt to threatening the life of a police officer's daughters stating, "those are two cute little girls, those are going to be two cute little tombstones," according to court records. She also reportedly stated she knows cartel members.

These threats were made after police responded to a wreck involving Tarbutton on Aug. 18, 2015. Tarbutton was taken to the police station to be interviewed about the wreck and made the threatening remarks at the station.