Man Faces Charges In Officer's Killing
Officer Shot During Random Robbery
POSTED: Wednesday, November 2, 2005
UPDATED: 5:28 pm CST November 2,
2005
HOUSTON -- One man, possibly two, are expected to be charged in connection with the fatal shooting of an off-duty Houston police officer, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.
Fondren Patrol Division Officer Reuben De Leon, 31 was shot and killed in the doorway of a southwest Houston apartment last Wednesday at 2:40 a.m.
Brandon Reshaud Zachary, 19, was taken into custody in Beaumont Monday and flown back to Houston. Prosecutors expect to file a capital murder charge against him.
Investigators told KPRC that evidence at the scene linked Zachary to the crime.
Zachary told investigators that he was at the scene when De Leon was shot to death, but another man pulled the trigger, sources told Local 2. He also said that they did not know De Leon was a police officer and the motive behind the shooting was robbery.
Zachary was placed in a lineup Wednesday afternoon for a witness to identify him, officials said.
Zachary was charged in an unrelated crime. He is accused of stealing a woman's car on Oct. 21. He was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in that case and is being held without bond.
A pocket warrant was issued for the second man in Wichita Falls. He was taken into custody Tuesday, questioned by local police and then flown to Houston. His name has not yet been released. It is unclear if and when he will be charged. He denied any involvement in the shooting.
Authorities said De Leon had worked for the department since August 1999. He left behind a wife and three children.
He was laid to rest on Saturday.
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