#Socialites get into this! A jury in Texas acquitted a man accused of fatally shooting an off-duty Houston Police Officer in a road rage incident back in 2020.
Man Beats Case On Self Defense After Fatally Shooting Houston Police Officer In Road Rage Incident
A few years ago, Robert Soliz, who was 24 at the time and is now 26, was charged with murder of the death of police Sgt. Sean Rios. He was 47-years-old and 25-year HPD veteran, and a father of four children, aged between 9 and 17 -years-old at the time of his death.
It is reported that Soliz was not charged with capital murder at the time, because he claimed Rios never once identified himself as a police officer during any part of the incident.
Now, back on November 9, 2020 around 1:30 p.m., sergeant Rios was on his way to work a shift at the Bush Intercontinental Airport when he got into a road rage clash with Soliz. As the incident progressed, Soliz says both men exited a highway and Rios swerved into his lane, nearly hitting him.
Eventually things came to a head when both men engaged in a gun battle, leading to Rios being shot and succumbing to his injuries. Soliz fled the scene, but was arrested 24 hours later and charged. Later that night, he claimed he never knew the victim was an officer.
Two years later, after claiming he never knew his victim’s profession, and pleading self defense, a jury acquitted Soliz as of Tuesday (November 15).
Harris County District Attorney’s Office first assistance David Mitcham said, “We saw the evidence differently than the jury, and though we cannot agree with the jury’s decision, we appreciate their time and service.”
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Mitcham added, “Our hearts remain with Sean Rios’s widow and four children, who will now grow up without their father. Officer Rios spent his time here on Earth serving and protecting the people of Houston, and he gave his life in that noble effort. He will always be remembered for the hero that he was.”
Meanwhile, Soliz’s legal team says the prosecutors didn’t have “a shred of evidence” to show that the shooting was anything more than self-defense. They said, “They put this man and his family through hell for two years. But I’m relieved because the damage wasn’t for life because it could have been life.”
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