SWAT officer shoots suspect who planned to rob armored car: HPD
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A suspect in an attempted armored truck robbery remains in critical condition Friday night after being shot by a SWAT officer at a southwest Houston shopping center, police say.
It happened at 16100 S. Post Oak near Court Road Friday afternoon.
It was a surveillance operation that turned into an officer-involved shooting. In between, police were employing a progressive tactic.
Police say they were watching three men in a stolen white pickup as they followed an armored truck. Surveillance video shows the armored truck pulling into a Walgreens on S. Post Oak and police say it looked like the guys were about to rob it.
WATCH: HPD sends strong warning after armored truck heist thwarted
"They (police) witnessed three suspects in that stolen white pickup start to mask up as if they were about to do a robbery," explained HPD Executive Assistant Chief Matt Slinkard.
But no one got out of the armored truck and the suspects started to leave. More video shows them driving away. Police followed and tried to stop them. Two people bailed out and ran. The third, police say, stepped out of the truck with an AR-15 and got into a shootout next to the truck. He was critically wounded.
Thirty-one-year-old Corderas Simmons and 28-year-old Jeremy Boniaby have been charged with interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting. They're also charged with firing a weapon during the robbery, according to the Justice Department.
Had they tried to rob the courier at Walgreens, police say they would have been surprised.
"Today that armored car had SWAT officers inside of it," said Slinkard. He added that two officers were inside, ready and waiting.
Retired Houston police officer Mark Stephens told ABC13 the technique is just proactive police work and a deterrent.
"This strategy or technique they used is as old as police work itself. It happens all the time, but we don't know about it because it doesn't involve a shooting," Stephens said. "With the police department stepping up and saying, 'Hey, you never know what's behind that door,' that's abig deterrent."
No officers or civilians were injured.
If convicted, Simmons and Boniaby face up to 20 years in prison. They would also get a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison for the discharge of the firearm, according to the Justice Department.
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