Uvalde Road in east Houston deals with a violent crime for 2nd time in a week that left a woman dead

Marcus Wayne Brock is charged with capital murder for the alleged carjacking that led to Jessica Garza's death.
Thursday, September 30, 2021
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Law enforcement and, to a greater extent, people who work, live and frequently travel through an east Houston road have to deal with knowing a chaotic crime took place again, claiming the life of another innocent woman.

Uvalde Road has already been the site of two separate incidents over the last week that ultimately led to the deaths of unsuspecting victims.

The latest of the incidents took place Tuesday afternoon when, according to police, a man robbed a business in the 600 block of Uvalde, tried to get away by carjacking an SUV with a woman inside, crashed it killing the woman, and then walked away from the wreck only to reportedly hold employees at a nearby business hostage before officers arrested him.

Innocent woman dies when carjacker drags her in E. Houston


On Wednesday, Houston police detectives told Eyewitness News the man taken into custody is 55-year-old Marcus Brock, who is charged with capital murder in the death of the woman, whom family members identified as Jessica Garza.

Detectives add that Brock has a long criminal history, with records showing at least 15 prior charges, including drug possession, evading and burglary.

Meanwhile, Garza's family continues to grapple with the reality that their loved one is gone. On Wednesday, a man who identified himself as the victim's husband spoke with ABC13 in the area where the 41-year-old mother of three lost her life.

Off camera, the husband said she was the mother of two boys - ages 13 and 15 years old - and a 19-year-old daughter. Garza and her husband were married for 13 years.

A GoFundMe site is being made to help with funeral expenses, the husband added.

Marcus Wayne Brock, left, is seen in his HPD booking photo. Jessica Garza's family provided her photo, right. Garza died at the scene captured by SkyDrone13.



In the wake of the chaos, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, whose agency is the lead investigator in a Sept. 23 purse-snatching that led the robber to run over and kill a 71-year-old woman at the McDonald's at 430 Uvalde, which is several blocks up from the carjacking, implored those who would be desperate enough to commit similar crimes, including those in financial distress or those grappling with substance abuse, to seek readily-available resources for help.

This map shows points along Uvalde Road where the two recent violent crime incidents took place between Sept. 23, 2021, and Sept. 28, 2021.



"I know it sounds cliché, 'Get a job,' and things like that, but there's resources out there," the sheriff said, alluding to the strong message he sent shortly after Martha Medina was killed for her purse. "If you're struggling with addiction, if you need a job, if you need resources, there's plenty of resources out there."

WATCH: 'Get a job': Sheriff fumes in wake of deadly purse-snatching
'Get a job': Sheriff fumes in wake of deadly purse-snatching


The person responsible in the purse-snatching remains at large.

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