HOUSTON – The man charged in the 2019 murder of a Houston police sergeant will spend the rest of his life behind bars after accepting a plea deal Monday.
Arturo Solis was charged with capital murder in the Dec. 7, 2019 shooting death of Houston police Sgt. Christopher Brewster. According to the district attorney’s office, Solis did not have a trial. Solis was 25 years old at the time and Brewster was 32.
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Authorities provided details of what happened on that day as Brewster was trying to assist a woman with a domestic violence situation.
According to HPD, a woman called police saying she was being attacked by her boyfriend, who was armed with two handguns. Brewster was the responding officer.
Brewster spotted Solis walking with the victim on Avenue L. Brewster then got out of his patrol car and the victim shouted, “That’s who you are looking for,” according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said Brewster called out to Solis, who then shot Brewster several times. Brewster did not have his weapon drawn at the time of the shooting, police said.
Although Brewster was mortally wounded, the sergeant radioed a description of the gunman during his call for help. Solis fled the scene, but authorities set up a perimeter and arrested him as he was jumping a fence near a school about a block away.
Solis was known for having a lengthy criminal history.
After pleading guilty Monday, prosecutors said Solis was sentenced to life with no parole.
“My understanding is that the family wanted closure, they didn’t want to deal with decades of appeals from a person who possibly would end up on death row. So I think that this was an efficient way to establish or provide closure because they know the outcome,” said defense attorney Anthony Osso. “He will never get out of prison. And our client, my client, didn’t want the trial. He wanted to accept responsibility for his actions and he accepted the sentence.”
“Sgt. Brewster’s family’s wishes were taken into consideration, and this defendant will spend every day for the rest of his life in prison,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “Our community will forever be safe from this selfish coward, who senselessly murdered a police sergeant.”
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