2 charged with murder in death of man cited in Las Vegas Ferris wheel sex

Bryant Christopher Watts is one of two men charged with murder after allegedly shooting an acquaintance as he was driving home from a strip club early Saturday, March 19, 2016. Bryant Christopher Watts is one of two men charged with murder after allegedly shooting an acquaintance as he was driving home from a strip club early Saturday, March 19, 2016. Photo: Menard County Sheriff's Office Photo: Menard County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close 2 charged with murder in death of man cited in Las Vegas Ferris wheel sex 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Two men who shot an acquaintance from the backseat as he was driving home from a strip club early Saturday were charged with murder Sunday.

Phillip Frank Panzica, 27, was fatally shot at 5 a.m. Saturday. Bryant Christopher Watts, 28, and Aaron Jones, 31, are charged with capital murder.

The victim was in the news earlier this year for a sexual incident on a Las Vegas Ferris wheel.

On Saturday, HPD homicide investigators reported that Panzica was with Jones at a southwest Houston adult entertainment club Vivid Live where Panzica's fiancee, reported to be Mistie Bozant, is on the staff. She left the club in the 2600 block of Winrock with her cash and was looking for Panzica in the club's parking lot. Jones told her Panzica was in her car, a black Kia Sorrento.

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The fiancee got in the passenger seat of her car, and the two suspects got in the back. As Panzica drove near Richmond and Jeanetta, Watts said, "You need to come clean," pointed a handgun at him and shot him several times.

The two men got out of the car, dumped Panzica's body at the side of the road and demanded that the woman get out of the car. They fled the scene in her car with her cash. She flagged down a Metro bus driver for help.

Later that day, a sheriff's deputy in Menard County saw a speeding black Kia Sorrento and pursued it. Multiple law enforcement agencies joined the chase and eventually stopped the car in Concho County. Watts, who was driving, confessed to robbing and shooting Panzica.

Earlier this year Panzica and a woman, Chloe Scordianos, 21, were caught allegedly committing sex acts on a Las Vegas Ferris wheel. A security officer noticed the only two passengers in Cabin 16 on the High Roller wheel off the Vegas strip were undressing while smoking cigarettes.

The High Roller, which has all-glass cabins, is a part of the Caesars Entertainment strip. The pair were charged with the felony crime of committing intercourse acts in public after the 30-minute ride concluded.

Bozant and Panzica had had a falling out while in the vacation hot spot when the incident on the Ferris wheel occurred. They later reconciled, according to reports.