La Porte SWAT standoff over, suspect in police custody

LA PORTE, TX (KTRK) -- La Porte Police have arrested 31-year-old Wesley Hicks of Houston and charged him with burglary after a call from the owners of a pharmacy.

It happened in the 1300 block of West Fairmont. The past four years Angelique Norris and her husband have owned Deangelo Pharmacy in La Porte.

Before noon they received a security alert in their Northwest Houston home. She saw a man by their safe in surveillance cameras.

"Make some money without having a job, that's what I figure. He was going to take my drugs and sell them on the street," says Norris.

The man quickly cut the wiring so the owners could no longer monitor what was happening inside. SWAT officers arrived on scene knowing a man was inside. They surrounded the shopping center area on West Fremont Road as the man created his own path through several stores.

Sgt. John Krueger with La Porte Police says, "Everyone on scene believed he had gone through the different holes in the wall and when we got to the adjacent businesses we could see there were several holes knocked in several walls to different businesses."

A locksmith helped police moved door to door as they followed his trail through walls of at least a half dozen stores and eventually to the ceiling of another.

Sgt. Krueger says, "Once the K-9 started barking the individual became very excited and was quick to get down."

Angelique Norris says their business is trashed adding, "It's very disheartening because we opened the pharmacy, I used to work for CVS and I opened it because we have elderly people, people who work part time and we give those discounts on their meds. We have $3 meds, $4, and free delivery. I opened it to help people and this is what I get."

The Norris' and other business owners have a mess to clean up but they are relieved at the outcome.

"I'm glad they caught him," says Norris.

Hicks was checked out for heat related issues by EMS and transported to the La Porte Jail.