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A Texas man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s father is now linked to at least three gun deaths in recent weeks in what authorities are calling a random crime spree that is “the definition of” a serial killer”.
Jeremy Harris, 31, has been charged with a string of murders that began on Halloween and ended with his arrest Wednesday for the murder of Blair Carter, 60, who was found in a burnt down house.
The Celina Police Department said Harris faces charges for at least three gunshot deaths in Dallas, including the murder of Robert Jaden Urrea, a 19-year-old EMS student, who was awaiting a carpool after a party in ‘Halloween. The other two victims, who were shot on November 14, were Adam Gautreau, 36, who was shot on a street corner, and Kenneth Jerome Hamilton, 57, who was punched from inside his car to a red. light.
Authorities say that with each random shot Harris pointed a pistol from his driver’s seat window, fired, then left.
“I believe that’s the definition of a serial killer,” Dallas deputy chief Reuben Ramirez said, adding that apart from Carter’s death at Celina, there was no known connection between Harris and his victims. “The characteristics of shootings are similar, he always shoots out of a vehicle.”
Harris’s arrest ended a massive manhunt for the person behind the gruesome shooting. The investigation included a call for public assistance and assistance from the North Texas Fugitive Task Force of the US Marshals.
“Knowing that someone is killing random individuals is another type of fear.“
Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall said on Friday the spate of post-Halloween shootings was particularly alarming because “it was distinct from anything we’ve seen.”
“Knowing that someone is at random, for no real reason, and without regard for human life, murdering individuals is a distinct kind of fear,” she said.
Authorities say Harris shot Urrea from a white Ford Taurus just after the 19-year-old called a carpool around 3 a.m. on October 31. of.
Dallas Police found the car – later identified as belonging to Harris’s girlfriend – in a repair shop on Thursday. Inside, investigators found a bullet cartridge under the passenger seat. The arrest warrant says Harris was involved in a car crash hours after Urrea’s murder.
“We are grateful to have arrested a suspect in the murder of our student, [Robert] Jaden Urrea, ”said Dr. KC Mmeje, vice president of student affairs at Southern Methodist University on Friday. “While nothing can ease the pain felt by his family and friends, we sincerely hope that the successful prosecution and conviction of Jaden’s murderer will bring them peace.
On November 14, Harris reportedly shot Gautreau multiple times from a black Chevy Tahoe. Gautreau’s mother told the WFAA her son was begging when he was summoned to the car – before he was shot several times as the driver ran away. About 40 minutes later, Hamilton was found dead in the driver’s seat of his car. Police say he was shot while waiting at a red light.
“Innocent people are being killed for no reason,” Hamilton’s wife Joyce told the WFAA at the time. “I don’t care where you go, you have to be aware of your surroundings, because people kill for no reason.
On Wednesday morning, crews from the Celina fire department responded to reports of a house on fire. After turning it off, they found Carter’s body. Witnesses told police they heard what sounded like gunshots inside the house before a man dressed in black fled the house with an unknown object. They also described seeing a black Chevy Tahoe – the same car model used in at least two of the Dallas shootings.
According to court documents, after Harris was arrested on November 17 in connection with Carter’s murder, Dallas police linked a weapon they found in his possession, along with his Chevy, to the shooting. Authorities also used CCTV to connect Harris to the crimes.
Later, when police searched his apartment, they found black rims he had removed from his SUV days before the arrest – which were captured in footage released by news outlets.
“We really started to find the pieces,” said Ramirez, the deputy chief of police. “Through working with our federal partners, as well as with the municipalities in this region … we really started to put this thing back together.
Harris is being held in Ellis County Jail on $ 3 million bond.
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