South Central Patrol use Time, Distance, and Cover to Take an Armed Suspect into Custody

This past weekend, South Central Patrol officers were dispatched to a call at 2800 Travis. The caller was a security guard at the Midtown Park who reported a man, armed with a knife, was trespassing in the park. 

Our officers arrived at the park and attempted to convince the man to drop the knife.  Instead, the suspect screamed at the officers and refused to comply.  Officers continued to give him verbal commands to put down the weapon while doing a great job of maintaining distance and cover, developing a plan, and waiting for additional officers.

Officers continued to talk to the suspect, who responded by waving the knife.  Eventually, two officers deployed their conducted energy devices (CEDs) in order to subdue the suspect by using less-than-lethal force.  When they did, the suspect dropped the knife and was arrested without further incident.

Great work by our South Central Patrol officers to safely take this suspect into custody.

Robbery Detective Helps Nab Serial Robber

Southeast Patrol officers were dispatched to a robbery in progress at a store located in the 8000 block of Fuqua. A Robbery Division detective knew there had been previous robberies recently at this location, so he headed to the area to assist patrol.

As the detective approached the intersection of Fuqua and Telephone Rd, he heard over the radio that the suspect had crashed his maroon Chevrolet Impala into a church. The detective saw the vehicle and observed the suspect exit the driver side and flee on foot. The detective, dressed in full police uniform, chased the suspect and saw him throw something over a fence.

The suspect then stopped and surrendered without incident to the detective. Officers searched the area where the detective observed the suspect throw something and found a pistol, a distinctive face covering identified as used in a previous robbery of the store, and a cell phone.

The suspect was brought back to the store where a witness identified him as the person who had just robbed the business. In addition, the detective learned the suspect was possibly tied to two previous robberies at the same location days before. Following a further investigation, the suspect was charged with all three robberies.

At the time of his arrest, the 18-year-old suspect was on bail with eight pending charges in the Harris County Courts including: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, attempted burglary of a habitation, and unlawful carrying of a weapon.

Great work by Robbery Division and Southeast Patrol to get a suspected serial robbery suspect off the streets!

Auto Theft Returns Money to Innocent Purchaser

Earlier this week, officers with the Houston Auto Crimes Task Force found a stolen 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe in an apartment complex parking lot listed for sale online. While waiting for North Belt Patrol Units to assist, an innocent purchaser who had driven from Dallas arrived and paid the suspects $15,000 cash for the vehicle.

Plain clothes officers were able to follow the suspects after they left the scene to a convenience store nearby where, with the help of patrol officers, they were arrested driving a stolen 2015 Dodge truck.

Patrol officers were able to pull over the stolen Tahoe driven by the innocent purchaser and explained the situation.  Officers returned the $15,000 to the innocent purchaser. Two stolen trucks were recovered valued at more than $51,000.00, and 3 felony charges were filed against two suspects.

Often times if the deal sounds too good to be true online, then it probably is. Great collaborative work by these officers!