Four Harris County sheriff's deputies shoot and kill robbery suspect

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A robbery suspect was killed after four Harris County sheriff's deputies shot at him in north Houston.

At this point in their investigation Harris County sheriff deputies believe the deceased suspect and his alleged accomplice are behind several north side robberies that occurred Tuesday prior to all the gunfire.

Those shots were fired after deputies found the two men in a stolen air conditioning repair truck.

A viewer who took cell phone video of the shooting says he heard at least 20 gunshots.

“We have four deputies that discharged their weapons their tenure range is from 10 to 3 years,” Harris County Sergeant Cedrick Collier said.

All the gunfire that happened at Airline and West Mount Houston began with the theft of a vehicle.

This air conditioning repair man deputies say was inside a home working in Garden Oaks when his company truck was stolen.

“It was stolen in the area of some of the robberies that occurred today,” Collier said.

Precinct 1 constable deputies were able to track the stolen vehicle by GPS.

They contacted the sheriff’s department for assistance.

“They knew we were tailing them and they were looking for a route to escape and they turned into a parking lot that didn’t have an exit,” the Sergeant said.

Deputies say one of the suspects got out of the stolen vehicle and tried to make a run for it.

“One stayed inside the vehicle and rammed the deputies car that was responding to the pursuit at which time the deputies discharged their weapons at the suspect,” said Collier.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released.

The second suspect identified by sheriff’s deputies as Joseph Maldonado was taken into custody.

Gabby Rodriguez says she has two children with Maldonado.

“Me and him we’ve been having problems so I told him to leave,” Gabby Rodriguez said. “Now this happens I don’t know what to think right now.”

Deputies say the suspects did not return gunfire, and it’s not known if they were armed.

However the sheriff’s department says the deceased suspect used the stolen vehicle as a weapon causing deputies to fear for their lives. The investigation is far from over.