Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: Sun 12/09/2007

Section: A Page: 12 Edition: 4 STAR

Constable kills robbery suspect / Off-duty lawman was attacked while parking cars in lot near Toyota Center

By ANITA HASSAN

Staff

An off-duty Harris County reserve deputy constable shot and killed a 19-year-old man who allegedly tried to rob him in a parking lot behind the Toyota Center on Saturday afternoon, Houston police said.

Richard Jue, 49, was parking cars around 2:15 p.m. in a lot his family owns in the 1400 block of Bell when two men approached him, asking for change for a $100 bill, Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon said.

Feeling that their request was suspicious, Jue refused. The men returned shortly afterward in a late 1990s model silver Ford Taurus.

They paid cash to park in the lot but returned a few minutes later, said they were leaving and asked for their money back, police said.

Jue "said, `I can't do that,' " Cannon said. The men didn't hand him the correct parking receipt, Cannon said, and while Jue was on his phone, "the suspects sucker punched him and pulled his vest up over his face. At that point, he was fearful he was going to be stabbed or shot."

Jue pushed the men away, pulled a gun from his waistband and fired at close range, striking the 19-year-old in the upper chest, Cannon said. The man's identity has not been released.

When the wounded man ran off and tried to hide between vehicles, Jue identified himself as an officer, Cannon said. He demanded that the man come forward and when he did not, Jue fired two more shots in his direction, Cannon said, adding that authorities don't think those bullets hit him.

The man ran across the street and collapsed.

At the same time, Jue saw the other man fleeing in the Ford Taurus, which police said had a license plate ending in 890.

The wounded man was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The men took all the money Jue was carrying and left him with a few scratches and bumps on the head, Precinct 1 Assistant Chief Deputy J.C. Mosier said.

Jue, who works as a manager for his family's nearby Chinese restaurant, has been a reserve deputy with Precinct 1 for 27 years, Mosier said.

"His status with us will not change," Mosier said, adding that he thinks Jue handled the situation properly.

The area was filled with fans attending two preseason high school basketball games at the Toyota Center.

Bobby Robinson was about to park in a nearby garage when he heard two shots fired and saw a man running.

"I knew he had been hurt because the whole side of his shirt was red," Robinson said.

The case is being investigated by HPD's homicide division and the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Anyone with information about the man who fled the scene is urged to contact the HPD homicide division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

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