Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal murder suspect admitted to using son's name when he was detained

Robert Solis is shown in bodycam video asking a deputy what happened shortly after Deputy Dhaliwal's killing.

ByPooja Lodhia KTRK logo

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Dep. Dhaliwal murder suspect cross-examines deputy who arrested him

For a third day, the defendant on trial for Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal's murder put his legal inexperience on full display. Here's what happened in court as he cross-examined witnesses.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Jurors in the trial of Robert Solis saw the moment he was detained after the murder of Harris County Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal.

Solis admitted in court that he used his son's name when a deputy asked for identification.

After firing his attorneys, Solis is representing himself in his own capital murder trial.

SEE MORE: Man accused of killing Deputy Dhaliwal fires his lawyers just prior to capital murder trial

After Deputy Dhaliwal's murder, as investigators searched for the person responsible, a Harris County deputy testified Solis approached him at a strip mall, asking what was going on.

Body camera video shows a man giving the deputy a name, but the deputy noticed he was wearing a grey shirt and khaki shorts, which was the only description for the killer.

In the video, the deputy asked for the man's fingerprints, saying, "Right now, you match almost 100% of the suspect description of a person who shot a cop."

The man answered in the video, "I don't have to answer any questions. You don't need to yell at me. I haven't done anything wrong."

After a brief struggle, video shows the deputy put him in handcuffs. Then, the man starts to struggle with him.

The deputy screams at him to unclench his hands so that he can get a fingerprint. Then, they get him in a patrol car.

During cross examination, Solis asked the same deputy if he seemed mentally unwell, also asking, "Did you notice anything unusual about me at that time?"

The deputy testified, "Yes, that you matched the description of a suspect who just shot a cop."

Solis later said in court he had used his son's name when asked for identification.

In earlier testimony, Solis' sister, Tara, testified that she had let her brother borrow her car on the day of the murder. She said her gun was later missing.