HOUSTON – Houston police have arrested the brother of a man accused of shooting an officer during an attempted robbery. The brother's girlfriend was also taken into custody.
Wednesday morning, members of the HPD Gang Task Force arrested Joseph Hearld and his girlfriend at their Northeast Houston home. According to police, Hearld has been threatening people in the neighborhood who witnessed his brother, Shelton Hearld, shooting Officer Jason Rhodes.
"These are innocent, good citizens of our community who at no fault of their own witnessed something. And because they do the right thing, he believes that he can turn around and threaten their lives," said Officer Adam Bock of the Houston Police Department.
Last month, Rhodes was shot in the arm as he responded to an attempted robbery call at a Family Dollar. Shelton Hearld has been arrested in connection with the shooting and faces charges of aggravated assault of a public servant and felony possession of a weapon.
Police say Joseph Hearld threatened witnesses to the crime, even pulling out a gun in some cases, but Hearld denies it. "I don’t have a weapon,” Hearld said. “I’m going to jail for retaliation on somebody; who the person might be, I don’t know."
HPD says Hearld has a long criminal history and he is a documented gang member. He now faces charges of aggravated assault and felony possession of a weapon.
Officer Rhodes is expected to make a full recovery.