Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is moving to present evidence to a grand jury against a man who shot an alleged armed robber to death at a Houston taqueria last week.
The 46-year-old man, who authorities have not identified because he has not been charged with a crime, has been hailed as a hero by some for intervening in an alleged armed robbery.
Ogg’s move coincides with the revelation that the robbery suspect was out on a $500 bond for domestic violence and had previously served prison time for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, a 2013 incident that resulted in the shooting death of Hamid Waraich, a cell phone store owner in Houston.
The deadly incident mirrors similar tragedies in Dallas, where low bail and lenient release conditions in Dallas County have resulted in a substantial pushback against District Attorney John Creuzot, who has been repeatedly criticized for his “soft-on-crime” approach.
Like Creuzot, Ogg has been a longtime beneficiary of left-wing mega-donor George Soros, who has contributed substantially to district attorneys’ campaigns across the country, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
The unidentified male customer was one of several patrons eating at El Ranchito Taqueria last Thursday night in southwest Houston. At around 11:30 p.m., 30-year-old convicted felon and robbery suspect Eric Eugene Washington entered the establishment and allegedly brandished a firearm, proceeding to rob the restaurant’s patrons at gunpoint.
According to court records, Washington was out on parole, having been released from prison in 2021 for the aggravated robbery. However, he was arrested again in December 2022 for assaulting his girlfriend and released on $500 bail.
“As the suspect collected money from patrons, one of the patrons, described as a white or Hispanic male, produced a gun of his own and shot the suspect multiple times. The shooter collected the stolen money from the suspect and returned the money to other patrons,” Houston police said in a statement.
Police said the unidentified man turned himself in and is cooperating with investigators.
Video footage of the incident was captured and widely circulated on Twitter.
The unidentified man’s attorney stated to Houston’s ABC 13:
“In fear [for] 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. … We are confident that a Grand Jury will conclude that the shooting was justified under Texas Law.”
ABC 13 also managed to make contact with two sons of Hamid Waraich, the cell phone store owner killed in the 2013 robbery.
“If the guy who stopped Eric was around 10 years ago, maybe I’d still have my dad,” said Aman Waraich.
Another of Waraich’s three sons, Sean, added, “The individual at the taqueria is a true hero! He did the right thing in stopping the robber and in protecting the community from a dangerous perpetrator.”