HOUSTON -- A 30-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the ambush of a sheriff's deputy while he was filling his patrol car with gas at a station in suburban Houston.
The arrest of Shannon J. Miles -- who has a criminal history that includes convictions for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct with a firearm -- came less than 24 hours after authorities said he gunned down Darren Goforth, a 10-year veteran of the Harris County sheriff's office, from behind at a suburban Houston Chevron station.
Court and jail records did not list an attorney for Miles.
Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said the motive for the killing had not been determined, but investigators would look at whether Miles, who is black, was motivated by anger over recent killings elsewhere of black men by police that have spawned the "Black Lives Matter" protest movement. Goforth was white.
"I think that's something that we have to keep an eye on," Hickman said. "The general climate of that kind of rhetoric can be influential on people to do things like this. We're still searching to find out if that's actually a motive."
Hickman said investigators are working on the assumption "that he was a target because he wore a uniform."
"We've heard black lives matter, all lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter, too. So why don't we drop the qualifier and say lives matter," Hickman said.
Court records of Miles' previous arrests show he lived at a home that deputies searched earlier Saturday. A red truck, similar to one that authorities said left the scene of the shooting, was found. Hickman credited the work of investigators and "routine research" that found the truck.
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson called on what she described as "the silent majority in this country to support law enforcement."
"There are a few bad apples in every profession. That does not mean there should be open warfare declared on law enforcement," she said.
In a statement Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott said "heinous and deliberate crimes against law enforcement will not be tolerated."
Goforth was a 10-year veteran of the force and had a wife and two children, Hickman said.
Goforth went to the Chevron gas station in Cypress, a suburban area of Harris County that is unincorporated and located northwest of Houston, after responding to a car accident earlier Friday.
A memorial was created at the pump he had used Friday night, with a pile of balloons, flowers, candles and notes, including one that said, "Gone but never forgotten R.I.P. Deputy Goforth." The gas station was open Saturday, but that pump was closed.
Brian McCullar knew Goforth because the deputy had patrolled his neighborhood, which is about 2 miles from the gas station, and the two spoke often.
"He was passionate about what he did," McCullar said, adding, "We're still in shock."
A Section on 08/30/2015