Shannon Miles is under arrest for allegedly shooting a Houston sheriff’s deputy 15 times on Friday. Deputy Darren Goforth had pulled into a Chevron station shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Friday when Shannon Miles approached him from behind and started shooting.
On Monday morning Miles made his first court appearance since his arrest. Harris County district attorney, Devon Anderson, described to a judge what authorities are calling an unprovoked attack. Dressed in a yellow prison jumpsuit, the defendant didn’t address the judge.
After the hearing, Anderson said Shannon Miles is cooperating with the investigators, however a motive hasn’t been established. A motive isn’t necessary under Texas law.
Prosecutors say Shannon Miles emptied 15-round handgun into the back and head of Texas deputy http://t.co/VxnRShYQT8 pic.twitter.com/1aZXf1vshz
— NYT National News (@NYTNational) August 31, 2015
Authorities believe Deputy Goforth was targeted because he was wearing a uniform.
Shannon Miles graduated from high school in 2003, not far from the Chevron station where he allegedly shot Darren Goforth. He was a member of the high school football team.
A witness to the shooting saw a black man standing over the deputy and shooting. The witness says the man then fled in a red Ford pickup truck that investigators tracked via the gas station’s surveillance tape. They found the truck in the driveway where Shannon Miles lives.
A gun found in Shannon Miles’s garage matched shell casings found near Deputy Goforth’s body.
Authorities nationwide fear some are targeting law enforcement authorities. It is unknown if that was Shannon Miles’s sole reason for the murder.
Suspect who killed Texas sheriff's deputy fired 15 shots, emptying his entire clip http://t.co/MnZhJpuMy2 pic.twitter.com/67Idjn3RQi
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) August 31, 2015
Devon Anderson chooses to remember the prayer vigil held Saturday in the late deputy’s honor.
“This crime is not going to divide us,” she said. “This crime is going to unite us. People of all races were out there. That’s what’s important here.”
Do you expect Shannon Miles was part of a group wanting to target law enforcement authorities or was there likely another motive behind this senseless killing?
