HOUSTON – Houston police said on Monday that the case involving a customer who fatally shot a robbery suspect at a southwest Houston taco shop will be referred to a grand jury.
The customer, whose identity was not released, was questioned by homicide detectives after his attorney representing him reached out to investigators on Sunday to set up a time to talk.
Police said that he is not arrested nor will face any charges at this time.
“The 12 Harris County grand jurors will look at that video as many times as they think they need to to make the ultimate determination of whether this is a righteous shooting,” KPRC 2 Legal Analyst Brian Wice said.
It’s not yet clear how soon a grand jury could hear the case.
What happened?
HPD officers responded to reports of a shooting at The Ranchito #4 taqueria in the 6900 block of South Gessner Road at around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Police said a masked man with what was believed to be a “plastic gun” pointed it at customers who were eating inside the restaurant and demanded their wallets and money.
“The fact that this perpetrator had a fake gun makes no difference,” Wice said. “Everybody who was present that night, including the shooter, had no way of knowing.”
When the robber walked past a man sitting in one of the booths, surveillance video shows him getting up from his seat, pulling a gun, and shooting the robber nine times.
“Once he fires that first shot, if his belief was reasonable, that belief continues until the threat has been totally dissipated,” Wice said.
Police said the shooter recovered the stolen money from the robber’s pocket and returned the money to other patrons.
The customer and other patrons did not stay at the scene before officers arrived.
The customer’s attorney, Juan L. Guerra Jr., released the following statement Monday:
“My client who wishes to remain anonymous was dining with a friend at El Ranchito Taqueria and as it has been seen on video a robbery suspect entered the restaurant, pointed a weapon at my client and the other customers demanding money. In fear of his life and his friend’s life my client acted to protect everyone in the restaurant. In Texas, a shooting is justified in self-defense, defense of others and in defense of property. The customer has met with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Investigators with HPD homicide. He fully intends to continue cooperating with the ongoing investigation. When the investigation is complete, this case will be presented to a Grand Jury. We are confident that a Grand Jury will conclude that the shooting was justified under Texas Law. This event has been very traumatic, taking a human life is something he does not take lightly and will burden him for the rest of his life. For that reason, he wishes to remain anonymous. Due to the overwhelming coverage we ask the media and the public to respect his privacy.”
Who is the suspect?
Houston police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Eric Eugene Washington.
DPS and court documents reveal that Washington was out on bond at the time of the robbery for an assault of a family member charge from December. He was due back in court later this month.
In 2015, a jury sentenced Washington to serve 15 years in prison on a 2013 aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon charge, court documents show. Prosecutors initially charged him with capital murder in the 2013 case, but records show the jury instead convicted him of the lesser charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Records show he got parole in early 2021.
“Will the grand jury care? Yes, because they will see that this man had a track record of being a stone-cold, card-carry, no doubt about it, aggravated robber,” Wice said.
Any patrons present during the time of the shooting are encouraged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 to provide statements to investigators.