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| -Lurid Crime Tales- | |
| Suspect charged in killing of Texas deputy | |
| 2015-08-30 | |
| Authorities have charged a 30-year-old man with capital murder, after they say he ambushed a Texas county sheriff’s deputy at a suburban Houston gas station in an attack motivated by "absolute madness." Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman identified the man in a news conference Saturday afternoon as Shannon J. Miles, who is in police custody. Miles — who has a criminal history that includes convictions for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct with a firearm — was arrested less than 24 hours after authorities said he ambushed Darren Goforth, a 10-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff's Office, at a suburban Houston Chevron station. "I am proud of the men and women that have worked swiftly to apprehend the responsible person who posed a significant threat to both law enforcement and the community at large," Hickman told reporters Saturday. "Our deputies return to the streets tonight to hold a delicate peace that was shattered last evening." Hickman said the motive for the killing had not been determined but investigators would look at whether Miles, who is black, was motivated by anger over recent killings elsewhere of black men by police that have spawned the "Black Lives Matter" protest movement. Goforth was white.
Hickman said investigators are working on the assumption "that he was a target because he wore a uniform." In a statement Saturday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said "heinous and deliberate crimes against law enforcement will not be tolerated" and that the state "reveres the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve their communities." In an earlier news conference on Saturday, Hickman and District Attorney Devon Anderson both had strong words for what they said was an unprovoked attack targeting law enforcement, while touching on the recent climate of tension between civilians and law enforcement. "We've heard black lives matter, all lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter, too," Hickman said. Anderson said that there are bad individuals in every field, but that "there should not be open warfare on law enforcement officers." Goforth, 47, was near a gas pump when the gunman approached him from behind and opened fire, Harris County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ryan Sullivan told The Associated Press. Hickman said Goforth was a “dedicated law enforcement officer” who had been a on the force for 10 years. He had a wife and two children, 12 and 5. "In my 45 years in law enforcement, I can't recall another incident so cold-blooded and cowardly," Hickman said. Sheriff’s office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland said Goforth had traveled to the Chevron station where the shooting happened, after responding to a routine car accident. “He was pumping into his vehicle, and the male suspect came up behind him and shot the deputy multiple times,” Gilliland told the Houston Chronicle. “The deputy fell to the ground, the suspect came over and shot the deputy again multiple times as he lay on the ground.” Fox affiliate KRIV reported Goforth was shot once in the head and three times in the back. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 There are blacks who go for the "[Only] black lives matter" rhetoric and consequently view themselves at war with the cops. These thugs are not much different from ISIS--killing and tearing down and destroying the social order. Obama has used the "bully pulpit" to fan these flames. Haven't heard so much from Sharpton these days. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2015-08-30 19:34 |
| #6 As some comic once mentioned, here in Texas we have an express lane for the death penalty. Someone decided he wanted to take a joy ride in it. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2015-08-30 17:05 |
| #5 Individual with a "dark complexion". |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2015-08-30 14:22 |
| #4 Chris, six priors, three of which might be violent (display of weapon, assault, attempt to evade). No convictions that I can see, though. It's hard to get around the video footage and the vehicle match, though. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2015-08-30 14:19 |
| #3 Doesn't appear to have a violent or even a criminal record. Maybe they got the wrong guy? |
| Posted by: badanov 2015-08-30 09:07 |
| #2 There is no right to scream 'Fire' in a crowded theater. The MSM has long past that line. BTW, 'freedom of the press' was about the technology to spread information, not about an institution engaged in the obstruction, suppression, or manufacture of 'news'. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2015-08-30 08:52 |
| #1 Miles also has a lengthy criminal record. In July 2005 he was arrested for criminal mischief. That October he was arrested again and put in jail for eight days for resisting arrest. In Dec. 2006 he was charged with disorderly conduct with a firearm, a misdemeanor. He was jailed for 10 days on the charge. In May 2007 he was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for trespassing. The same month he was charged with evading detention. In Jan. 2009 he was charged with resisting arrest. Link The investigation is in the early stages, but no reports of jihadi sympathies, cat feces and urine filled apartment, or multi-colored flags as of yet. The anger and rage boxes has been checked however. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-08-30 04:30 |