One of three suspects charged in fatal 2017 home invasion

HOUSTON – A man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a man during a home invasion in 2017, according to Houston police. 

The suspect, Jonathan Vera, was 16 at the time of the deadly home invasion, but will be charged as an adult in the case. He is now 17, police said.

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Police said Vera and two other suspects confronted a man leaving a home around 1:45 a.m. Oct. 19, 2017 in the 200 block of Casa Grande.

The man, who lived at the residence, was leaving for work when the trio approached him. The suspects forced the man back inside the home, ordered him to lie on the floor and went the bedroom of 55-year-old Silvano Cortez, where they held up him and his wife, according to police. 

At one point, one of the suspects fired multiple shots inside the home, fatally striking Cortez.

Any one with information about the two other suspects is asked to call Houston homicide at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.


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