Prosecutors: Jailed suspect ordered robbery of slain undercover officer

 

Policeman's killer, suspected accomplices appear to be illegal immigrants

By JAMES PINKERTON and DALE LEZON HOUSTON CHRONICLE

June 25, 2009, 2:44PM

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HPD

Henry Canales was working undercover when he was killed.

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Suspects in HPD shooting appear in court, houston,Chronicle, Two suspects accused of capital murder in the shooting death of HPD Officer Henry Canales appeared before a judge Friday. A prosecutor gave details of the incident. The suspects are being held without bond. Video by Jason Witmer. June 26, 2009.HPD officer, suspect die in shootings, , An undercover Houston police officer was killed Tuesday night in a shootout with a man killed moments later by another officer, officials said. Video by Mike Glenn. June 24. 2009.Hurtt on fallen officer, , Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt talks about the officer who was killed Tuesday night while investigating stolen televisions. Video by Michael Paulsen. June 22, 2009.

MORE ON THE CASE

How the shooting unfolded

The gunman who fatally shot a Houston police officer in the back before being gunned down by another officer during an undercover sting late Tuesday is believed to have been an illegal immigrant from Mexico, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Robert Rutt, agent in charge of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement office of criminal investigations in Houston, confirmed that Houston police had asked for assistance in determining the immigration status of the gunman shot to death in a drug store parking lot after officer Henry Canales, 42, was fatally wounded.

Preliminary autopsy results show Canales was shot in the back, prosecutors said today.

“Based purely on name and date of birth checks we ran, we find no records of him in our databases, and him being born in Mexico it appears he was here illegally,” Rutt said. “However, until we run his fingerprints through our system we cannot make a final determination.”

Rutt said a fingerprint check on three companions of the gunman — arrested shortly after Canales was slain — showed they are in the country illegally.

The Harris County District Attorney’s office identified the dead gunman as Roberto Pedroza-Carrillo, 37.

The district attorney’s office identified the two adults as Andres Nava-Maldonado, 41, and Xiomara Mendez-Rosales, 36. Both have been charged with capital murder and remain in the Harris County jail.

A magistrate judge denied bond to Nava-Maldonado and immigration officials placed a hold on him as well. His first district court appearance was set for Friday morning.

In a hearing this morning, prosecutors said that after Canales took money from the suspects around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday while posing as a crook selling a truckload of stolen televisions in a parking lot on Hillcroft near Bellaire, he signaled that the deal was done.

Prosecutors said the deal called for the defendants to buy $30,000 worth of TVs for $6,500.

While it was unclear whether the suspects detected the signal, prosecutors said shortly after the exchange Pedroza-Carrillo pulled a pistol and Nava-Maldonado — who today requested contact with the Mexican consulate — told him to "get the money."

That's when the shooting began, authorities said.

Canales was mortally wounded, and Pedroza-Carrillo was shot and killed by a second undercover officer, identified as Ruben Lopez, who had been watching from nearby, Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties said. Pedroza-Carrillo had fired at Lopez, but missed. (See the sequence of events in the shootings here.)

Canales was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he died.

Mendez-Rosales, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, also remained held without bond after her first court appearance this morning. Prosecutors said she told authorities she saw the killer put a pistol in his waistband before the nighttime meeting.

The juvenile also remains in custody.

``The charges allege that the suspects murdered the officer during the commission of a robbery,'' Harris County Assistant District Attorney Julian Ramirez stated in a news release, explaining the capital case against the suspects.

Christie Carbonero said she last spoke with Carillo, her stepfather, shortly before he left their northwest Houston home Tuesday night.

``His friend called and said they were going to buy some televisions really cheap,'' Carbonero said late Wednesday.

She didn't know exactly where Carillo was supposed to meet up with the undercover HPD officers.

"We thought he was going to come back later, but he didn't," she said.

Carillo would not have gotten involved in the venture had he known they were stolen, Carbonero said.

"He's a working guy. He wouldn't do that. He worked for his money," she said.

Immediately after the shooting, the surviving suspects sped away in a van. They were arrested at Bellaire and the Southwest Freeway.

Discouraged street racing

Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said it was too early to link Canales’ death to the HPD’s long-standing policy of not inquiring about residents’ immigration status.

Since the murder of Houston police officer Rodney Johnson in 2006 by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record, the union has pushed for more authority to question residents about their citizenship during criminal investigations. In March, veteran HPD officer Rick Salter was shot in the face while serving a search warrant on a previously deported criminal immigrant, injuries that have left him blind in one eye and paralyzed on one side.

After Salter’s shooting, Mayor Bill White and Police Chief Harold Hurtt agreed to federal training for two dozen city jail officers to check federal databases for immigration warrants on people who come through the jail.

Canales got his children — Henry Jr., 15, and 17-year-old Stephanie — involved in drag racing through the nationwide nonprofit Beat the Heat program, aimed at discouraging street racing by having police and firefighters race youths at local race tracks.

“He was one of a kind … one of the most caring police officers, on and off duty, I’ve ever been around,” said Precinct 6 Constable Lt. Glenn Ellis, who raced with Canales in the Beat the Heat program. “It’s a terrible loss.”

Canales began his HPD career in July 1993, was assigned to the Northeast Patrol division in early 1994, and went to work for the auto theft division in July 2002.

“He had wonderful experience, and his undercover tactics were exemplary,” said Rosalinda Ybanez, president of the Houston Police Organization of Spanish Speaking officers. “He will be very sorely missed by us all.”

Operation called routine

Sgt. Joe Smith, who worked with Canales in the auto theft detail, called him “a great guy. He was very quite unassuming, a very dedicated father, an incredible father.”

Smith said the sting was a routine part of the HPD’s effort to close down auto theft and burglary rings.

“Auto theft does one or two of these kind of stings every week. They use guys who are very well-trained,” Smith said. “They are monitored electronically so we can see and hear what’s going on. But you can never factor in what someone is going to do who is willing to take a human life. It’s dangerous work. I mean, that’s just nature of the beast.”