Robbery suspect shot and killed by HPD officer involved in lawsuit for shooting death of another man

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police confirm the young man suspected of repeatedly robbing a dollar store at gunpoint has died.

Police say the young man, who they have not identified, died just after 9 p.m. Wednesday. He is accused of robbing the Krazy Dollar Store on Veterans Memorial Drive near Broad Haven Drive at about 5:50 p.m.

A clerk at the Krazy Dollar Store, who asked to remain anonymous, told ABC13 the young man and an accomplice first robbed the store Saturday. She said the suspect's accomplice threatened to kill her.

"The other one that came with him Saturday will kill me," she said.

The pair returned Sunday and robbed another clerk. On Monday, they tried to rob the store again, but the door was locked. On Wednesday, when just one of the two men returned, the clerk explained, "They came straight to me."

SEE ALSO: Effort to take down alleged robbery ring ends with HPD officer shooting suspect

The clerk told ABC13 she and her young child are in the United States seeking asylum after a domestic violence attack nearly ended her life. She was stabbed 14 times.

"I am shaking. I am here because I need the cash. I need the money," she said.

Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite with the Houston Police Department said the initial robberies prompted a "joint operation" between his department and the Harris County Sheriff's Office. The two agencies were surveilling the Krazy Dollar on Wednesday evening when they saw the suspect run out and onto a residential side street, Broad Haven.

"As officers attempted to arrest the suspect, one officer exited his patrol vehicle as the suspect was running toward him with a pistol in hand. The officer discharged his duty weapon, striking the suspect first," according to a release from Houston police.

The officer involved in Wednesday's case has been identified as Devin Inocencio. He is one of four officers named in a federal lawsuit by the family of Charion Lockett. The law student was shot and killed by police in front of his family's home in a separate incident in 2022. Police say they were attempting to arrest him for an armed robbery warrant. Lockett's family disputes the charge. Inocencio was the first to open fire.

The lawsuit states, "Body-worn camera footage of the shooting shows Detective Inocencio riding in an unmarked red vehicle, pulling up fast near Mr. Lockett, and open the door of his red unmarked car, dressed in civilian clothes, and point a Glock handgun directly at Mr. Lockett without ever identifying himself as a police officer, or saying anything. At all times, Detective Inocencio was behind the car door and dash."

SEE ALSO: HPD releases body-worn camera footage of man's shooting death

The Harris County District Attorney's Office and the Houston Police Department's Internal Affairs division are investigating Wednesday's shooting, which is standard.

The violence is upsetting but familiar for Krazy Dollar patron Barbara Rigali.

"I've been through this. Five times I've been a victim of violent crime," Rigali said.

In three of the five incidents, she was robbed at gunpoint at her own job. Rigali learned her favorite Krazy Dollar clerk was going through the same thing after watching ABC13.

On Thursday, she visited the store and offered to hang around when it's most frequently robbed.

"Five times, and if I'm not dead now, I think the good Lord has a reason for me, and maybe it's to help (the clerk) through her trying times. I don't know. But, I came here to console her," Rigali said.

According to ABC13's Neighborhood Safety Tracker, robberies in the Greenspoint area have been steadily declining. In 2019 there were 243. In 2020 there were 195. In 2021 there were 163, and in 2022, there were 159. There have been 148 over the last 12 months.

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