HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities say a 17-year-old has been arrested on a capital murder warrant in the fatal shooting of an off-duty deputy sheriff on the northern outskirts of Houston.
The Harris County Sheriff's office said late Friday that the teenager is the third of three suspects now in custody in the shooting death of Deputy Darren Almendarez.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says Almendarez was in a grocery store parking lot with his wife when he interrupted three people apparently trying to steal the catalytic converter from his vehicle.
Gonzalez says Almendarez and the three exchanged gunfire, killing Almendarez. The other two suspects were wounded. They're also in custody on capital murder charges.
Almandarez told his wife to leave the area. As he approached the vehicle, the three people began shooting at him and he returned gunfire, Gonzalez said.
Almandarez was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The other two suspects, Joshua Stewart, 23, and Fredarius Clark, 19, were wounded. They were arrested on capital murder charges at the hospital where they later sought treatment.
Court documents do not list attorneys who could speak on behalf of Stewart or Clark.
