Suspect dies at North Freeway motel while officials tried to arrest a murder suspect, authorities say

HOUSTON – Pasadena police identified the suspect shot and killed Wednesday morning as 18-year-old Luis Alberto Rodriguez Jr.

It happened at the Express Inn located in the 16600 block of the North Freeway.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force were attempting to apprehend a murder suspect when the suspect retrieved a pistol and two members of the team fired, killing the suspect.

Rodriguez was out on bond for his alleged involvement in a homicide last year in Houston at 6602 Winfield Road.

During the September shooting, officers were called to a shooting and found 42-year-old Nolberto Lopez dead in the back seat of a pickup truck.

Investigators say witnesses in the truck told officers they left a gas station on East Mount Houston Road at Suburban Drive and were followed.

Police say the front seat passenger of a white, four-door Toyota fired several shots at Lopez near the above address and then fled the scene.

Rodriguez was identified as the suspect and arrested on Sept. 30. He was released on bond on Oct. 1, 2021.

This week, court documents show Rodriguez moved out of his dad’s home Monday night. The next day, Tuesday, his dad files with the court to be removed as a co-signer to his bond because he could, “no longer guarantee Rodriguez’s appearance in court and wishes to be relieved from liability.”

“His dad didn’t feel like he could provide enough oversight, so he asked to be removed from the bond,” said Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger.

Bruegger said one of his officers and a U.S. Marshals agent shot Rodriguez.

Both are on administrative leave.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.


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