Latest on Houston deputy: Suspect charged with murder


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HOUSTON (AP) — Here are the latest developments regarding the fatal shooting of a suburban Houston sheriff's deputy (all times local):

4:40 p.m.

A 30-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the ambush of a sheriff's deputy while he was filling his patrol car with gas at a station in suburban Houston.

Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman identified the man as Shannon J. Miles, who is in police custody.

Hickman says Miles had a previous record including charges of resisting arrest and trespassing.

Authorities said they are not sure of the motive in what Hickman has described as a "cold-blooded assassination" of Deputy Darren Goforth.

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3:45 p.m.

Officials say a suspect has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a deputy at a suburban Houston gas station.

Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman was scheduled to hold a news conference at 4:30 p.m. CDT to discuss the arrest.

Officials with the sheriff's office declined to comment on details of the arrest or what charge the suspect might face until the news conference.

Deputy Darren Goforth was pumping gas about 8:30 p.m. Friday when a man approached him from behind and fired multiple shots, continuing to fire after the deputy had fallen to the ground.

Earlier Saturday, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland said officials were questioning a person of interest and had a search warrant for a two-story brick home.

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1:25 p.m.

Gov. Greg Abbott says "heinous and deliberate crimes against law enforcement will not be tolerated in the State of Texas."

Abbott released a statement Saturday afternoon in response to the death of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth at a suburban Houston gas station.

Goforth was in his uniform when a man approached him from behind and fired multiple shots Friday night as the deputy filled up his patrol car. No arrests have been made.

The governor says, "Texas reveres the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve their communities."

He added that he knows local law enforcement "will work tirelessly to apprehend the killer and ensure justice for Deputy Goforth is served."

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1:20 p.m.

Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman says authorities will "follow the evidence to the logical and legal conclusion" in the fatal shooting of one of the office's deputies.

Hickman also said that the "dangerous rhetoric" against law enforcement has "gotten out of control."

He also said the house that is being searched near the gas station where Deputy Darren Goforth was ambushed and shot Friday night is connected through the truck. Officials were looking for a red or maroon pickup truck.

Hickman said it is "all speculation" regarding a motive.

He also said, "We've heard black lives matter, all lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter, too."

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1:15 p.m.

Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman says that authorities are still looking for the suspect in the fatal shooting of a deputy at a gas station.

Hickman said at a Saturday afternoon news conference that surveillance video showed there were people at the gas station in suburban Houston about 8:30 p.m. Friday when Deputy Darren Goforth was ambushed by a man and shot several times. He asked that they reach out to the sheriff's office with any information.

District Attorney Devon Anderson had strong words at the news conference, saying it is "time for the silent majority in the country to support law enforcement" and that there should not be "open warfare on law enforcement officers."

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.

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12:00 p.m.

Authorities say the man they are speaking with in connection with the fatal shooting of a Harris County sheriff's deputy is a person of interest.

Sheriff's office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland said no one has been charged. A news conference is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Gilliland also said authorities are searching a home that's about a quarter-mile away from the suburban Houston gas station where Deputy Darren Goforth was shot and killed on Friday night.

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10:45 a.m.

Authorities are searching a home in connection with the fatal shooting of a Harris County sheriff's deputy at a gas station about a quarter-mile away.

Sheriff's office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland says that the person authorities are speaking with about the shooting lives at that home. He also said they have obtained a search warrant and have been looking inside the home.

Nine patrol cars, including one that has the words "crime scene unit" on the side of the vehicle, are parked near the two-story brick home.

No arrests have been made in the death of Deputy Darren Goforth, who was ambushed and shot several times at a gas station in suburban Houston at about 8:30 p.m. Friday.

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10:20 a.m.

An impromptu memorial of balloons, flowers, candles and notes has begun at the gas pump where Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth was shot and killed.

The Chevron gas station is in Cypress, a middle-class to upper middle-class suburban area of Harris County that is unincorporated and located northwest of Houston. It is open for business, though the pump where Goforth was shot about 8:30 p.m. Friday is closed.

Sheriff's office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland says police are speaking with someone who has information about the shooting but he is not under arrest, nor is he a suspect or a person of interest.

Brian McCullar says he got to know Goforth during the deputy's patrols in the neighborhood and says he was "passionate about what he did."

The 49-year-old says Goforth's death is a "huge loss for this area."

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8:40 a.m.

Authorities say they are speaking with a person who has information about the fatal shooting of a Harris County sheriff's deputy.

Sheriff's office spokesman Deputy Thomas Gilliland said the person is not under arrest, nor is he a suspect or a person of interest.

No one has been charged and the search continues for the suspect.

Police say Deputy Darren Goforth was pumping gas about 8:30 p.m. Friday at a suburban Houston gas station when a man approached him from behind and fired several shots. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The male suspect is described between 20 and 25 years old and about 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, was wearing red shorts and a white T-shirt and driving a red or maroon pickup truck.

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This story has been corrected to show that the gas station is in Cypress, an unincorporated area of Houston, not Copperfield, which is a subdivision in Cypress.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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