HOUSTON – Surveillance video and an anonymous tip helped police bring charges against two men accused of murdering a security guard on Dec. 22.
Daniel Moreno and Jonathan Vasquez are both charged with capital murder.
Moreno, 22, was arrested without incident on Dec. 28, but Vasquez, 21, remains on the run.
Security guard Saul Cruz, 71, was shot several times while sitting in his patrol car outside a convenience store on Anderson at Campden Hill. Surveillance video shows two men with faces covered approaching the car. One man is seen holding a rifle, the other a pistol.
Police said the men then grabbed Cruz' pistol and tried to get into the trunk of his patrol car but couldn't get it open.
"I used to be a security guard myself and I used to work nighttime. I feel so sorry for the family," said Sandra Martinez, who lives in a nearby neighborhood. "I'm really happy that they caught those guys because they're dangerous around this place."
Shortly after police made surveillance video of the gunmen public, an anonymous tip was phoned in to Crime Stoppers. The tip led police to the names of Moreno and Vasquez.
Court documents read shortly after the murder Vasquez also messaged his estranged girlfriend "stating that he was selling a .45 S&W and asked her if he can trust her not to judge him."
Police wrote Vasquez "then sent her a "YouTube" link about the murder," before both deleted their Facebook profiles.
The "YouTube" link referred to in court documents was the surveillance video released by Houston police.
Vasquez has no prior record as an adult. Moreno had a pending criminal case at the time of the murder. He was facing charges of marijuana possession and unlawfully carrying a gun.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Vasquez is asked to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.