Prosecutors: Suspect Unloaded Entire Gun into Harris County Deputy
Posted by jhingarat21 on 1st Sep 2015
HOUSTON – Prosecutors say a 30-year-old Cypress man emptied his entire weapon as he gunned down a Harris County sheriff’s deputy Friday night at a northwest gas station.
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said Shannon Jaruay Miles, 30, fatally shot Deputy Darren Goforth after he refueled his police cruiser at the station. Miles made his initial appearance in a Houston courtroom Monday morning.
“They found Deputy Darren Goforth face down in a pool of his own blood,” Anderson told state District Judge Denise Collins.
Prosecutors believe Goforth was shot 15 times. Anderson said investigators found 15 shell casings at the scene.
“He unloaded the entire weapon into Deputy Goforth,” Anderson said.
Anderson said a .40 caliber handgun was found at Miles’ home. She said the bullets in the gun matched bullets fund at the scene of the shooting. Ballistics testing later showed that the bullets fired at the scene matched the weapon.
Miles, who appeared in the yellow jail uniform typically reserved for high-profile inmates, spoke little, including that he understood the charges against him.
Collins kept Miles in jail without bail and appointed defense attorneys Charles Brown and Anthony Osso.
Miles is accused of walking up behind Goforth at about 8:20 p.m. Friday and shooting him repeatedly in the back without any apparent provocation. The motive for the shooting is unclear. Miles is charged with capital murder. Deputies took Miles in for questioning early Saturday morning before formally arresting him hours later.
A makeshift memorial at the Chevron where 47-year-old Goforth was killed overflowed with American flag balloons and flowers. More than 1,000 people attended a vigil for Goforth at the gas station Sunday evening.