Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: Tue 04/07/2009

Section: B Page: 3 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.

Deputy shoots fleeing suspect

By RENEE C. LEE

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

A Harris County sheriff's deputy shot and wounded a suspected car burglar, one of two men who tried to run him down in a west Houston parking lot, Houston police said.

The deputy was investigating a car burglary theft ring on Monday when he followed two men to the student parking lot of Houston Community College's Town & Country Campus at Interstate 10 and the Sam Houston Tollway, according to Houston police.

When the deputy suspected the men were trying to break into a vehicle, he got out of his cruiser and ordered them to stop, police said.

The men returned to a Pontiac Grand Prix and tried to run him down, causing him to end up on the hood of the car, according to witnesses.

Police said the deputy fired into the car in fear for his life, hitting one of the men in the face.

The men wrecked the car underneath an interchange and ran. They were arrested a short time later.

The deputy, whose name was not available, was taken to Memorial Hermann-The Texas Medical Center with injuries not considered life-threatening.

The identities of the suspects, or the condition of the wounded one, were not immediately released.

renee.lee@chron.com

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