'He looked straight at us': ABC13 reporter's powerful account of alleged killer's capture
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As the chilling murders of three people, an armed home invasion and the robbery and shooting of a METROLift driver left Houstonians on edge, Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Ehling came eye-to-eye with the man accused in all five violent crimes.
Jose Gilberto Rodriguez, 46, was captured in northwest Harris County on Tuesday morning. He was driving a dark Nissan Sentra, the same vehicle that belonged to one of the murder victims.
That same vehicle would later speed by Jeff as he prepared to go live in the neighborhood where one of the attacks took place.
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"A Harris County Sheriff's deputy passed by our location, asked if we had seen someone matching the description because a sheriff's deputy had gotten a call about a suspicious person," Jeff described.
He says deputies were already out patrolling the area due to the several tips received from vigilant neighbors. Once Rodriguez was spotted by authorities, he led them on a chase.
"We saw the suspect in the gray Nissan driving right past as we were trying to safely get close enough to cover this," Jeff explained.
Jeff saw the suspect pass by him and his photographer three times. That's when he made eye contact with Rodriguez.
"We were so close we could see his face. He looked straight at us," Jeff said. "We looked right at him. We could tell this was the suspect we were looking for."
Jeff tells ABC13 the Nissan never stopped. It continued down Eldridge, through side streets and neighborhoods, making U-turns.
It didn't end until two Harris County deputies blocked the suspect's vehicle at the intersection of Wortham Landing and North Eldridge, forcing Rodriguez to pull over.
The deputy confirmed that was the man everyone had been urgently looking for as the murder rampage continued to grow.
"It was an astounding moment for us because this is typically not the kind of thing we were a part of," Jeff said.
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Rodriguez was taken into custody around 7 a.m. When it came to tracking him down, authorities said that they knew it was an area he frequented. They believe he may have been looking for his next victim.
"We hope he can be held accountable and bring closure to the families," said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Authorities say they have no reason to believe anyone else was involved in the crimes.
