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HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on the arrest of a man suspected in three Houston-area killings (all times local):
1 p.m.
Authorities say they didn't search for a Texas parolee who violated the terms of his release by removing his ankle monitor until after he was linked to three shooting deaths.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says 46-year-old Jose Gilberto Rodriguez was among about 600 parolees with a violent history living in the Houston area facing an active arrest warrant for violating terms of probation.
Officials say Rodriguez removed his ankle monitor on July 5, more than a week before authorities believe he fatally shot three Houston-area people.
Harris County senior deputy Thomas Gilliland says deputies don't necessarily search for parolees who have violated their terms of release and would only arrest those offenders they come across during the course of a patrol.
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11:40 a.m.
A Texas sheriff's official says a series of killings over four days were "crimes of opportunity" by a suspect focused on easy targets.
Harris County senior deputy Thomas Gilliland on Wednesday declined to address the motive behind the string of violent crimes blamed on 46-year-old Jose Gilberto Rodriguez.
But Gilliland says the parolee's actions were consistent with criminals searching for "soft targets" who focus on smaller stores with minimal customer traffic and only one or two employees.
Authorities accuse Rodriguez of shooting 28-year-old Allie Barrow at a Houston mattress store on Saturday and 57-year-old Edward Magana at another mattress store on Monday. He's also accused of killing a 62-year-old woman in her home.
Rodriguez is being held without bond in the Harris County jail.
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9:45 a.m.
A Houston-area parolee charged in the deaths of two people is being held without bond as authorities decide whether to also charge him in the death of a third.
Forty-six-year-old Jose Gilberto Rodriguez remains in the Harris County jail Wednesday on two counts of capital murder and a parole violation.
Officials say he shot 62-year-old Pamela Johnson on Friday in her Cypress-area home and a day later killed 28-year-old Allie Barrow at a Houston mattress store.
Authorities say Rodriguez could face a third capital murder charge in the shooting of a man Monday inside another mattress store in Houston.
Rodriguez served decades in prison before being released in September. He was being tracked by an ankle monitor that police say he cut off earlier this month.
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