Deputy Jesus "Jesse" Vargas, 41, was killed in the line of duty. Vargas was a 17-year veteran of the department, where now a marked patrol unit sits draped in flowers in his honor.
"He's a pillar to the community and also our department," Sheriff Bo Stallman said as he stood in front of the memorial Thursday night. "He's a positive guy, and the loss has certainly left a hole here in our agency."
Stallman said Vargas did warrant and fugitive apprehension work for the county, but he was also assigned to the Galveston unit of the US Marshals Service Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force, a specialized task force that hunts down fugitives. Vargas had been assigned since February 2023.
Wednesday, Vargas and another task force member who also works for the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office were searching for Robert Lee Davis III, officials said. They tracked Davis, a violent ex-convict, to a shopping center on Stella Link near the South Loop.
Surveillance video shared with ABC13 shows Davis walking out of a dollar store and getting into the passenger seat of a brown truck. Vargas' partner pulls in front of the truck, appearing to block it in. Vargas then approached on foot from the rear and was immediately met with deadly gunfire.
Veteran officers, familiar with "close-quarters battle" and fugitive apprehension, viewed the video and questioned the tactics and lack of additional officers on scene.
The US Marshal for the Southern District of Texas tried to make sense of the approach during a Thursday evening press conference.
"Are you familiar with pinning? That's when you take all four sides, and that's the best thing you could do," T. Michael O'Connor said. "Then you don't have this."
O'Connor said they would debrief the deputy who was on the scene.
"They had no expectations that someone was going to jump out of a truck and start firing upon them," he said.
Davis, who was killed after shooting a K-9, has a criminal history dating back to 1986 that escalated in violence and included at least two prison terms. The warrant Vargas was serving was for allegedly shooting a family friend. He also had outstanding warrants in Harris County for allegedly sexually assaulting a relative.
"This day was no different for Jesse," Sheriff Stallman said. "He was serving a warrant, actively pursuing someone with a felony warrant."
Stallman said Vargas loved his work. He was married and had three daughters.
Family, friends, and fellow deputies brought flowers Thursday to the memorial outside the department.
Funeral arrangements for Vargas are still pending.
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