Attorney for suspect in murder of HPD sergeant wants case to be investigated by outside agency

BELLVILLE, Texas – A lawyer representing the man who was indicted for the death of a Houston police sergeant earlier this week said on Wednesday that the way his client was arrested shows the Houston Police Department was not the correct agency to investigate the matter.

Robert Soliz, 24, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with murder in connection with the Monday assassination of HPD Sgt. Sean Rios, a 25 year veteran of the department, along the North Freeway.

Lawyer Paul Looney said he had been in contact with law enforcement officials on Tuesday who knew he was traveling to Houston to deliver Soliz, his client, to authorities. Looney said while driving on Interstate 10 Katy Freeway he was surrounded by a fleet of law enforcement vehicles that forced him to stop. He said a “sea of ​​shotguns” had been pointed at him and Soliz before they took him into custody.

Looney said the action indicates that HPD is not the agency that should investigate the case.

“Whenever you’re this close to the situation, your emotions are hot and your logic runs out,” Looney said.

Looney said he believes the Harris County Sheriff’s Office or the Texas Rangers, the state’s investigative agency, should take on the case.

“When referred to a neutral agency without a conflict of interest, the quality soars,” Looney said. “All any of us want here is the right thing to do.”

Investigators said they believed Rios was killed in a shootout as he intervened in an earlier shootout between two vehicles on the highway.

Looney said he didn’t think Houston Police had evidence until now that would warrant the arrest of his client, whom he has known since he was a child. He said he believed Soliz was innocent of murder and that Soliz and Rios had never met until Monday.

“This is not going to play out as it has been described,” Looney said.

Looney said he did not speak to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo about his request for a third-party agency to conduct the investigation, but did speak to several members of the forces of the United Kingdom. ‘order.

Looney said he is also in the process of conducting his own investigation and has “confidential” information about the case that he will not share because HPD does not have it yet.

Soliz appeared in court on Wednesday, where his bond was set at $ 500,000.

A second man, who police have described as “a person of extreme interest”, is wanted in Rios’ death.

You can watch a replay of the Looney press conference below.