Deer Park man shoots son, then has ‘father-son’ talk before stabbing him to death

A Deer Park father fed up with his supposed unruly adult son shot him several times, then proceeded to have a "father-son" talk before ultimately stabbing him to death, prosecutors said.

There was some sort of longstanding tension between Sherman Shirley Fricks, 68, and his son, Sherman Palmer Fricks Jr., 27, according to Deer Park Police Lt. Chris Brown.

In a probable cause hearing Monday morning, prosecutors said the father had become fed up with his son's attitude. Fricks stated that he had called law enforcement on his son in the past, but they were never able to fix it a prosecutor said.

Just the day before, the son had broken his phone, so Fricks took him to a local electronics store to get it fixed, prosecutors said. On the way home, the son began kicking the back of the front passenger seat where the father's girlfriend was sitting.

Then, around 11 a.m. Sunday, Fricks armed himself with a .380 pistol and sat in wait while his son went to get fast food for lunch, prosecutors said. As the son walked into their home in the 1300 block of Meadowlark Street, Fricks asked him what he had ordered. His response was a "smart" comment, prosecutors said.

"(Fricks) stated that he was prepared to shoot (his son) in the back, and that was his plan," prosecutors said. "He stated (his son) made the smart remark and turned to him. (Fricks) just started shooting him until nothing else came out of the handgun. After the shooting, (his son) was still alive."

As his son was dying on the floor, Fricks initiated a "father-son" conversation with him, according to court records. After about 20 minutes, the son reportedly grabbed his father by the arm, at which point the father – already armed with a kitchen knife – stabbed him several times, prosecutors said.

Officers rushed to the home found the younger Fricks nearly lifeless, Brown said. They started CPR to try and save Fricks, who later died at the hospital. In his court appearance Monday, Fricks broke down in tears as a judge ordered him to be held on a $60,000 bail amount. He's facing a first-degree felony murder, which carries a possible life sentence if he's convicted.