HOUSTON – One person has been arrested Tuesday and another person is being sought in connection with the slaying of a Houston police sergeant killed during a shootout along the North Freeway.
Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said Robert Soliz, 24, was arrested during a traffic stop along Interstate 10 Katy Freeway. Soliz has been charged with murder in connection with the death of HPD Sgt. Sean Rios, Acevedo said.
Acevedo also released surveillance video and images of a second “person of extreme interest” in connection with the case. The video showed the person having a discussion with Soliz. A black pickup with mismatched rims is also seen in the video.
The chief said he believes Rios was killed during a shootout while trying to intervene in an exchange of gunfire between two vehicles that happened on the freeway.
“We do have 911 calls indicating exchange of gunfire between a white pickup truck and a Mercedes Benz matching the description of the vehicle that we have in police custody, and that’s the suspect’s vehicle,” Acevedo said. “We believe there’s a high probability that Sgt. Rios saw that incident between these two vehicles and, sadly, he ended up losing his life in trying to intervene on that surface street.”
Acevedo said he believes Soliz is tied to several road rage incidents in the Houston area.
“We are highly confident that he will be charged with assault with a pistol involving another member of the community that occurred about a month ago,” Acevedo said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.