Houston gunman 'shot deputy 15 times' in gas station assassination that 'cop lives matter too' sheriff has linked to national anti-police rhetoric 

  • Shannon J Miles was arraigned on charges of capital murder in a Texas court Monday morning
  • Prosecutors say Miles shot Harris County sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth 15 times at a gas station Friday evening  
  • A judge ordered Miles be held without bond at the Monday hearing
  • Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff in memory of Goforth 
  • Over the weekend, Harris County sheriff Ron Hickman blamed the Black Lives Matter movement for his deputy's death 
  • He says the movement has turned the rhetoric against cops, putting their lives at risk  

A suburban Houston police officer who was ambushed at a gas station was shot 15 times, Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson said in court Monday.

Shannon J Miles appeared briefly in state district court in handcuffs and shackles and said very little, other than to answer the judge's questions. He is being held without bond and was appointed two attorneys.

Anderson read the probable cause statement during the hearing, saying that police received a call of an officer down at 8.20pm Friday. When police arrived at the gas station in the Houston suburb of Cypress, they found deputy Darren Goforth face-down.

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Shackled: Shannon Miles (in yellow) appeared in court on Monday as he was arraigned on charges of capital murder in the shooting death of Harris County sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth 

Shackled: Shannon Miles (in yellow) appeared in court on Monday as he was arraigned on charges of capital murder in the shooting death of Harris County sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth 

Facing the charges: The judge held Miles held without bond during Monday's hearing 

Facing the charges: The judge held Miles held without bond during Monday's hearing 

Anderson said investigators saw surveillance video from the gas station, which showed that Goforth, 47, had just come out of the store after he had pumped gas and that Miles got out of his red truck and approached the deputy.

'He runs up behind deputy Goforth and puts the gun to the back of his head and shoots. Deputy Goforth hits the ground and then he continues to unload his gun, shooting repeatedly into the back of deputy Goforth,' Anderson said.

Goforth was shot 15 times and a witness saw the shooting, Anderson said. She added that the shell casings match the .40-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun found at Miles' home.

Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson explains outside state district court on Monday how sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth was gunned down
Anderson demonstrates how Goforth was shot

Taking aim: Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson explains outside state District Court court how sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth was gunned down on Monday 

She would not comment on a motive to reporters after the hearing.

Harris County sheriff Ron Hickman said over the weekend that the attack was 'clearly unprovoked', and there is no evidence that Goforth knew Miles.

'Our assumption is that he (Goforth) was a target because he wore a uniform,' the sheriff said. 

In a press conference Saturday afternoon, Hickman pointed a finger at the Black Lives Matter movement, saying it had 'ramped up' public sentiment against officers like Goforth, helping create the conditions for the attack.

We've heard black lives matter, all lives matter - well cops' lives matter too. Why don't we just drop the qualifier and say 'lives matter'
Harris County sheriff Ron Hickman 

He said: 'Our system of justice absolutely requires law enforcement to be present to protect our community.

'So at any point where the rhetoric ramps up to the point where the calculated, cold-blooded assassination of police officers happens, this rhetoric has gotten out of control.

'We've heard black lives matter, all lives matter - well, cops' lives matter too. Why don't we just drop the qualifier and say "lives matter".'

A resume posted online suggests Miles attended Prairie View A&M University, the school where Sandra Bland was arrested following a traffic stop and alleged assault on a police officer in July.

Three days later she killed herself in her cell and the Black Lives Matter movement made her an integral figure in its movement.

Miles' criminal record begins in 2005, when he was convicted of criminal mischief, giving false information to police and resisting arrest, according to records. 

In 2006, he was convicted of disorderly conduct with a firearm and sentenced to a maximum of 15 days in jail. 

He was convicted of evading arrest in 2007, and his most recent conviction came in 2009 for again resisting arrest.

Killed: Darren Goforth, 47, was gunned down from behind as he filled his patrol car with gas in Houston, Texas, Friday night
Suspect: Shannon J Miles was arrested and is now facing capital murder charges

Killed: Goforth, 47, (left) was gunned down from behind as he filled his patrol car with gas Friday night. Shannon J Miles (right) was arrested and is now facing capital murder charges

Memorial: Mourners gathered Saturday by the petrol pump where Goforth was shot dead, covering it with balloons and flower tributes

Memorial: Mourners gathered Saturday by the petrol pump where Goforth was shot dead, covering it with balloons and flower tributes

'Out of control rhetoric': Harris County sheriff Ron Hickman pointed the finger at the Black Lives Matter movement at a press conference Saturday

'Out of control rhetoric': Harris County sheriff Ron Hickman pointed the finger at the Black Lives Matter movement at a press conference Saturday

Records show that the 30-year-old Houston resident was sentenced to several short stints in jail, of between six and 10 days.

Goforth, 47, was pumping gas at a Chevron station Friday night in Cypress, a middle- to upper-middle-class suburban area of Harris County located northwest of Houston, when the gunman approached him from behind and fired multiple shots, continuing to fire after the deputy had fallen to the ground.

The killing evoked strong emotions in the local law enforcement community, with Hickman linking it to heightened tension over the treatment of African-Americans by police. Goforth was white and Miles is black.

The nationwide 'Black Lives Matter' movement that formed after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, has sought sweeping reforms of policing. 

Related protests erupted in Texas recently after a 28-year-old Chicago-area black woman, Sandra Bland, was found dead in a county jail about 50 miles northwest of Houston three days after her arrest on a traffic violation. Texas authorities said she committed suicide but her family is skeptical of that.

Suspect: Law enforcement released surveillance footage from the gas station. Shannon J Miles has now been arrested and charged with the murder of the deputy

Suspect: Law enforcement released surveillance footage from the gas station. Shannon J Miles has now been arrested and charged with the murder of the deputy

Getaway: Station security footage recorded this red Ford Ranger with an extended cab leaving the area

Getaway: Station security footage recorded this red Ford Ranger with an extended cab leaving the area

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered Texas flags in Harris County and at the Capitol to be lowered to half-staff to honor Goforth.

Abbott said in a statement Monday that Texas has sustained a 'deliberate and heinous crime' against a law enforcement officer in Harris County.

The governor says Texas residents revere the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect and service their communities.