Man accused of killing Deputy Dhaliwal had criminal past

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - As many across our area continue to mourn the loss of Harris County Sheriff Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, the man accused of his murder has yet to make a court appearance and remains in a Harris County Jail cell.

Robert Solis is the man charged with capital murder, and has had countless run-ins with the law over the last 20 years. He even served a 12-year prison sentence but violated his parole. Victims' rights advocate Andy Kahan believes if Solis had been behind bars, like he is now, Deputy Dhaliwal would still be alive.

"He has been a fugitive from justice since January 2017," says Andy Kahan, Director of Victims Services, Crime Stoppers Houston.

Robert Solis, 47, enjoyed his freedom until now. He was paroled in 2014, after serving 12 years of a 20-year sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated kidnapping. In 2016, he was convicted of a driving while intoxicated but was allowed to remain on parole instead of being sent back to prison.

Then in 2017, Solis violated parole for allegedly possessing a firearm, but law enforcement was not able to locate him until Friday, September 27.

"Here is just another example of an offender on parole getting a new conviction, and not being returned to consequences, and people pay the price for that," says Kahan. "If his parole was revoked after getting a new conviction, none of this could happen, I mean you can certainly argue it that way."

Kahan says every year about 6,000 parolees statewide are convicted of new offenses while on parole, and they are not returned to prison. Kahan says he hopes cases like Dhaliwal's will change the leniency in our criminal justice system.

"Obviously this is one of the most humongous tragedies you can possibly have happen, yet it was so utterly preventable," he says.

No bond has been set for Solis. He is expected to make his first court appearance Monday.