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Suspect in SWAT standoff was free on multiple felony bonds
FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace explains the full story in this edition of Breaking Bond.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - There are 25,000 open felony warrants in Harris County.
"These crooks know they are not going to court, they're just going to let it play out and when they get caught, they get caught," said Doug Griffith President of the Houston Police Officers Association. "The problem is they know they're wanted. They could be paranoid. They could be high, they could be crazy, we don't know."
BACKGROUND: Man who exchanged gunfire with deputy in custody after hours-long standoff: HCSO
28-year-old Roman Torres is one of those wanted fugitives.
"In 2019, he's charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, makes bond, then he's charged with two felony drug cases on separate dates, makes bond. Then he's charged with felon in possession of a weapon a gun, makes bond, so he's out on four felony bonds," said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers.
On each of those four felonies, the District Attorney's Office asked 262nd Criminal District Court Judge Lori Chambers Gray to revoke Torres' bond and put him in jail.
"Every time they requested, it was denied," Kahan said.
A couple of weeks ago, Torres' bond was forfeited. He stopped appearing in court, so he became a wanted fugitive.
"He pretty much told the court I'm not going to abide by anything, and yes you can keep on arresting me, yet they kept putting him back out," said Kahan.
This past weekend, Torres was the target of a 7-hour SWAT stand-off with Harris County sheriff's deputies.
"At the end of the day, this guy should have never been on the street," Griffith said. "He had four felony warrants, they went to get him, he fired upon the officers. The deputies didn't know, they just thought they had a burglar, and they were fired upon as soon as they got to the scene. Then he goes in and hides."
Luckily, no one was killed or seriously injured during the seven-hour standoff.
"You had probably 40 officers out there for seven hours dealing with a crook that should never have been out on the streets to begin with," said Griffith.