Posted on 04/06/2022 10:51:17 AM PDT by thegagline
Three people have been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Texas deputy, authorities said.
The incident occurred Thursday night around 8:30 p.m. outside a grocery store in North Harris County.
Harris County Deputy Darren Almendarez, 51, and his wife were walking to their car from the store when he saw two men under his truck allegedly attempting to steal the vehicle's catalytic converter, authorities said.
Almendarez told his wife to run. As he approached his truck the suspects began firing at him, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Almendarez returned gunfire, striking two of the suspects, before they fled the parking lot in a car, the sheriff said.
The deputy was transported to a local hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead from his gunshot wounds, authorities said. Almendarez's wife was not injured.
The two suspects wounded in the exchange showed up at the same hospital in the suspect's vehicle later that night in stable condition, authorities said.
The suspects -- Joshua Stewart, 23, and Fredarius Clark, 19 -- have been charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Almendarez, authorities said Friday.
A third suspect sought in the incident, 17-year-old Fredrick Tardy, was arrested and charged with capital murder, authorities said Friday night.
***
"Heartbreaking," the sheriff said after the deputy was identified.
Almendarez "loved being a deputy" and was an "outstanding member" of the agency, Gonzalez said.
"A remarkable man and public servant. Humble beginnings, grew up in Second Ward and played sports at Settegast Park," Gonzalez said on social media. "From his first job as a teen at Whataburger on Harrisburg to fulfilling his goal of being a cop."***
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Heartbreaking.....were they illegals
Useless thieves of OXYGEN, also.
Teens
Three Texas men...
It should be open season on catalytic converter thieves.
No daily or possession limit.
These lowlifes are part of a gang operating with impunity in Harris County - Houston Area.
That is their job, stealing catalytic converters, and they steal thousands and thousands every day.
The Police do nothing to track the thieves down and arrest them.
> saw two men under his truck allegedly attempting to steal the vehicle’s catalytic converter <
Catalytic converter thieves are using lookouts more and more. So word to the wise. If you see someone messing with the underside of your car, you might be outnumbered more than you know.
Oh jeez!
Moral: Shoot first.
Surprise, surprise, surprise. The killers were the race of professional victims.
“Catalytic converter thieves are using lookouts more and more”.
Time to buy a glass-pack and cash in my catalytic converter?
Flogging was the usual punishment for horse thieves, combined with the shaving of heads and beards, and fines of up to three times the value of the horse...
rhodium The rarest and most valuable of the metals is rhodium, which was valued around $650 per ounce in 2016 but steadily climbed to around $3,000 per ounce by the end of 2019, according to Moneymetals.com. Over the course of 2020 the value shot up drastically, reaching a high of $29,000 per ounce by April 2021.
Just copied off the internet/don't know if true...
Mr. Paul Kersey, please pick up the red phone.
Texas will put these idiots in the express lane to hell.
Unfortunately, there’s a fair chance they will be allowed to post bond. There are a few dozen capital murder defendants out on bond in Harris County as we speak.
Also, only a few days later, another off-duty cop was shot trying to stop another catalytic converter theft in northern Harris County: That time, the cop was working security at a movie theater and was shot when he intervened in a catalytic converter theft (one of several that have happened in that same parking lot in recent weeks).
With the Democrat judges we have in Harris County, I’m not so sure, but hopefully we’ll be sweeping some of them out of office this November.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.