HOUSTON – A neighbor told KPRC 2 Investigates that she was “very surprised” about what was discovered in the home of Roland Caballero.
Law enforcement said Caballero was responsible for shooting three HPD officers and carjacking a vehicle on Thursday, Jan. 27.
Caballero is now facing three state counts of attempted capital murder of HPD officers, and he is also federally charged with possession of a machine gun and felon in possession of a firearm.
Whenever there are federal charges filed, Andy Kahan of Crime Stoppers said a message is being sent to the defendant.
“It’s really significant because the feds are hardball,” said Kahan.
Inside the federal charging documents was something that is rarely seen at crime scenes -- the discovery of a 3D printer.
“I think you are going to start seeing more and more of it,” said Kahan.
Ryan Patrick noticed an uptick in criminal cases where a 3D printer was involved during his four years as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. Patrick said 3D-printed parts are challenging because they cannot be traced.
”That falls under the category of, sort of, what is called ghost guns,” said Patrick.
Ghost guns are illegally manufactured and are also the focus of national discussion, according to Patrick.
“There is this whole debate over First Amendment issues and 3D printed guns, but if you cannot possess them legally to begin with, it doesn’t matter,” said Patrick. “He (Cabellero) is still a convicted felon, and he can’t make them and he can’t give them to anybody.”
Patrick said Houston also has seen a proliferation of Glock switches in recent years. The switches transform a handgun into an automatic weapon.
Images from law enforcement show a modified handgun was used in the Midtown shootout with HPD.