Two suspects charged, one wounded by police
A man allegedly shot by police following a vehicle break-in at a club and his companion are facing felony charges in connection with the Saturday, Feb. 25 incident.
Hector Lopez Jr., 20, is charged with aggravated assault against a public servant for allegedly hitting two officers with the vehicle he was driving. He was wounded when both officers fired their weapon. He was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in stable condition. His injury was not believed to be life threatening.
His companion, Jaime Acevedo, 33, was not injured and fled the scene. He is charged with felony evading arrest. Both are charged in the 183rd State District Court.
The two officers who discharged their service weapons were identified in a Houston Police news release as W.T. Blevins and B.N. Graham. Although Lopez is accused of hitting both officers, neither was hurt. Both are assigned to the Clear Lake Patrol Division and were sworn in June 2009.
HPD Homicide Division Sgt. W. Gonzales and Senior Officer X. Avila reported Blevins and Graham had permission to work extra duty at the El Rodeo Club, 10531 Gulf Freeway, and were at that job when they were notified that someone was breaking into a vehicle in the club parking lot.
As they entered the parking lot, they saw Lopez and Acevedo sitting in a vehicle that was backed into a parking spot. The officers ordered Lopez to get out of the vehicle, but Lopez revved the engine and quickly pulled out of the parking space, struck one of the officers and made him fall to the ground.
“The suspect tried leaving the parking lot, but the way out was blocked,” the officers stated in the news release. “Lopez put the vehicle in reverse and backed up quickly and hit the second officer.”
Just then, both officers fired their weapons, and one bullet allegedly hit Lopez.
Acevedo ran from the scene but was captured a short time later.
The case is being investigated by the HPD Homicide and Internal Affairs Division as well as the Harris County District Attorney's Office, as is common in cases in which an officer's gun is fired.
