| Houston police have learned the identity of a person of interest sought for questioning in the fatal shooting of an HPD officer that occurred in the 7900 block of the North Freeway (Interstate Highway 45 North) service road about 1:30 p.m. on November 9.
The person of interest has been identified as Jason Frank Vazquez, 24. A prior booking photo of Vazquez, who has not been charged at this time, is attached to this news release. Surveillance photos of Vazquez, previously released on November 10, are also attached to this news release.
The suspect, Robert Soliz, Jr. (H/m, 24), is charged with murder in the 179th State District Court. A booking photo of Soliz is attached to this news release.
The person of interest was seen driving a black Chevrolet pickup truck and speaking with Soliz after the shooting.
The victim, Sergeant Sean Rios, 47, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Sergeant Rios was sworn in as an HPD officer in February 1996 and assigned to the Airport Division.
HPD Special Investigations Unit Sergeant G. Rodgers and Officers I. Ulloa, R. Lujan, M. Resnick, J. Brown reported:
Patrol officers were dispatched to a shooting in-progress call to the northbound service road at the above address. Officers arrived and found a Kia Forte abandoned on nearby Stuebner Airline and a male with a gunshot wound inside a nearby hotel. Witnesses came forward and claimed two Hispanic males had a confrontation with the male in the Kia Forte. Witnesses told officers the driver of the Kia and the driver of the Mercedes fired shots at each other and stated one of the Hispanic males fled the scene in a light blue Mercedes, the other male in a black Chevrolet truck.
It was determined the wounded male had walked to a nearby hotel at 7766 North Freeway where he was pronounced deceased. Upon further investigation, it was discovered the deceased male was an off-duty Houston Police Department Sergeant, Sean Rios. Officers canvassing the area located the blue Mercedes and developed a primary suspect, Robert Soliz.
Soliz was taken into custody during a traffic stop on November 10 and subsequently charged for his role in the shooting.
Further investigation developed information that identified the person of interest as Jason Frank Vazquez. Vazquez remains at-large.
Investigators are asking anyone who may have seen or heard anything between the 3900 and 7900 blocks of the North Freeway, north of North Interstate Highway 610 and south of Gulf Bank Road, or know the whereabouts of the person of interest, Jason Frank Vazquez, to contact the HPD Special Investigations Unit at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Jason Frank Vazquez (2019)
Jason Frank Vazquez
Robert Soliz, Jr.
Update: VHS/JKS 11-17-20
JFC/VHS 11-11-20
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