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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Suspects shot, deputies injured in drug bust
By Ken Fountain
Baytown Sun Published August 25, 2006 Two suspects were critically injured and three Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies received minor injuries in an undercover drug sting that ended in gunfire Thursday afternoon.
According to Lt. John Denholm of the department’s homicide division, Yantsey Gonzales and Charles Ray Lewis were delivering cocaine to undercover narcotics officers in the parking lot of an auto parts store in the 14000 block of FM 2100 at about 2:49 p.m.
After the exchange was made, deputies began to make the arrest and noticed a handgun inside the suspects’ maroon Cadillac. The suspects tried to speed away, striking two undercover officers who were on foot. The Cadillac then ran into a parked patrol unit, spinning it.
Three deputies fired on the suspects, both of whom were hit. Their car then slammed into a parked pickup truck. Both were flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where they were listed in critical condition at press time.
Denholm said the two undercover officers received superficial injuries. The patrol deputy, whose shoulder was injured, was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hermann.
Charges are pending against both suspects. As with all officer-involved shootings, the incident is being investigated by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Following the incident, several deputies and investigators cordoned off a large area around the parking lot collecting evidence. The investigation slowed afternoon traffic going in both directions of FM 2100 for hours afterward.
One piece of evidence was the car belonging to Marie Ordonez, who works in the Wal-Mart store across the road from the auto parts store where the incident took place.
Ordonez said she was just about to leave work when her daughter, who had just arrived at the Wal-Mart, called her on her cell phone to say that her car had been shot up in the melee.
Ordonez’ car, which was parked at the far end of the Wal-Mart parking lot on a diagonal from where the incident took place, had its back window blown out. A bullet was lodged in the car frame between the driver’s seat and the backseat.
“If I hadn’t waited to leave work, it could have been me,” Ordonez said.
Some time later, Ordonez got into her car and drove home.
Baytown Sun Published August 25, 2006 Two suspects were critically injured and three Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies received minor injuries in an undercover drug sting that ended in gunfire Thursday afternoon.
According to Lt. John Denholm of the department’s homicide division, Yantsey Gonzales and Charles Ray Lewis were delivering cocaine to undercover narcotics officers in the parking lot of an auto parts store in the 14000 block of FM 2100 at about 2:49 p.m.
After the exchange was made, deputies began to make the arrest and noticed a handgun inside the suspects’ maroon Cadillac. The suspects tried to speed away, striking two undercover officers who were on foot. The Cadillac then ran into a parked patrol unit, spinning it.
Three deputies fired on the suspects, both of whom were hit. Their car then slammed into a parked pickup truck. Both were flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where they were listed in critical condition at press time.
Denholm said the two undercover officers received superficial injuries. The patrol deputy, whose shoulder was injured, was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hermann.
Charges are pending against both suspects. As with all officer-involved shootings, the incident is being investigated by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Following the incident, several deputies and investigators cordoned off a large area around the parking lot collecting evidence. The investigation slowed afternoon traffic going in both directions of FM 2100 for hours afterward.
One piece of evidence was the car belonging to Marie Ordonez, who works in the Wal-Mart store across the road from the auto parts store where the incident took place.
Ordonez said she was just about to leave work when her daughter, who had just arrived at the Wal-Mart, called her on her cell phone to say that her car had been shot up in the melee.
Ordonez’ car, which was parked at the far end of the Wal-Mart parking lot on a diagonal from where the incident took place, had its back window blown out. A bullet was lodged in the car frame between the driver’s seat and the backseat.
“If I hadn’t waited to leave work, it could have been me,” Ordonez said.
Some time later, Ordonez got into her car and drove home.