HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Two suspects accused in the murder of Precinct 3 Deputy Omar Ursin appeared in a Harris County courthouse Wednesday, where they waived their rights to future bond hearings, and are expected to remain in jail until the case is resolved.
This could be considered important for many because, In what many may describe as an “all-too-familiar” scenario, the suspects were both already out on bond for previous murder charges before Ursin was killed.
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KPRC 2 was the only station to capture footage of Ahsim Taylor, 20, and Jayland Womack, 20, as they entered the courtroom, shackled and dressed in county orange jumpsuits.
According to investigators, on Aug. 29 around 6:30 p.m., Deputy Ursin was returning home from picking up food for his family. He was driving alone when someone fired at him, causing him to crash into a tree in the 11900 block of Madera Run Parkway. The 37-year-old deputy suffered one gunshot wound and was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation led to authorities fingering Taylor and Womack as those responsible.
Taylor was previously charged with capital murder and tampering with evidence. He is accused of shooting a man to death during an attempted robbery. A judge originally set his bond at $200,000 but it was later lowered to $75,000. Taylor reportedly violated his bond on Jan. 1, 2021, but there was never a motion to revoke it by prosecutors or a judge.
Womack was charged with murder on Jan. 3, 2021. He and another suspect are accused of killing a man a day before. A judge set his bond at $35,000 in that case. His bond was revoked on Dec. 4, 2021 for having contact with the second suspect in the case and for being in possession of marijuana and firearms. Womack was taken into custody and his bond was raised to $75,000, which he made on Dec. 24.
In court on Wednesday, the focus appeared to be keeping the two behind bars pending the outcome of the upcoming trial for Ursin’s death.
“Today, in discussion with the defense attorneys, a hearing has been waived by the defense and this will effectively hold these defendants at no bond for the pendency of their case,” said Ryan Trask of the District Attorney’s Office. “Their bonds are set at zero. There is no opportunity to make bail.”
Defense attorney Connie B. Williams said that, even though they waived their rights at this time, options could possibly be revisited later.
“It would be discretionary if we somehow reached some agreement with the District Attorney’s Office to go back and try to get a bond set, but my main interest is getting these cases resolved more than the bond situation,” Williams explained. “I feel like, from what you know of the case now and the facts that you’ve heard, are a long way from home.”
Williams said they have a lot of work to do.
“There will be some surprises you’ll see as this evidence develops,” he said.
Attorney Letitia D. Quinones, who is also part of the defense, spoke specifically about Taylor’s case.
“We think there are bigger issues that we need to address as opposed to Mr. Taylor getting out on bond at this time. The facts of the case, they need to be, you know, really ran to the ground and we don’t want it inundated by the fact that he received a bond,” Quinones said. “You know one thing I want you to know, we acknowledge the crime in our community right now and that means something to defense attorneys, just as it does to prosecutors and police. So we’d rather focus on the issues that are more paramount to bond and that is who exactly committed the crime and how can we help in trying to reach that goal.”
Quinones said her client comes from a loving and supportive family.
“He is a member of a family that loves him dearly, and they are upstanding citizens. And as it stands right now, he’s innocent until proven guilty,” she said. “So we just want the criminal justice system to work and we believe that, at the end of the day, we have faith that it will.”
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