Shooting at Houston farmers market worries vendors

Two 14-year-olds spent hours in Houston’s closed farmers’ market, digging through piles of merchandise and grabbing what they wanted. They were about to leave with a stolen golf cart when employee Damon Price arrived at work and confronted them.

The teens were carrying knives, according to surveillance footage from the June 6 burglary. One of them, however, brandished a gun and opened fire on Price, killing the 36-year-old around 4:30 a.m. as he interrupted their alleged golf cart theft., police said.

The June 6 fatal shooting, part of a rising trend in violent crimes committed by children, has vendors at the bustling 2520 Airline Drive market concerned about safety at a time when many Many employees were expected to arrive soon and set up their stalls of fresh produce and other merchandise. for the day. Price, whose job was to screen vehicles entering the market, was with a security guard at the time of the confrontation, police said.

Houston Farmers Market officials stressed that keeping their employees and guests is their “highest priority.”

“We remain diligent in our efforts to maintain a safe environment for all,” a market representative said, without specifying what changes, if any, would be made in the wake of Price’s death. They directed additional questions to the police department.

Market has since donated $5,000 to a GoFundMe page for Price’s funeral expenses and for his children.

Alma Cavazos, 35, who works for her husband’s family fruit and vegetable business, checked their own security cameras after the shooting and spotted the duo looking under tarps and rummaging through boxes near their stand while the market was closed. Her cameras, which they installed following recent petty theft concerns, captured the duo in the building as early as 1:18 a.m., she said.

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The footage, which Cavazos shared with the Chronicle, showed the accused teen and his accomplice pushing boxes with their knives. One wore latex gloves while the other stuffed a bottle of alcohol into a backpack.

“It’s crazy because (Damon’s death) should never have happened,” Cavazos said, wishing market management had done more to beef up security before Price’s death. “We told them they needed to do something before something really bad happened – and that’s when it happened.” I was in disbelief.

Price would also collect their rent checks, said Cavazos’ husband, José Vasquez.

“He was humble — there to do his job,” Vasquez said.

Perez Nursery owner Diego Perez showed up for work about an hour after the shooting. Police then surrounded Price’s body in the employee parking lot.

“Everything was calm until these chamaquitos came with their nonsense,” Perez said.

Police shared surveillance footage of the teens near a row of decorative pots at another booth in an effort to identify and arrest them. The mother of the accused shooter, who has not been publicly identified, quickly turned him over to authorities. His defense attorney asked a magistrate this week to allow him to return home instead of remaining held in a juvenile detention center as his case moves through Harris County’s isolated court system for accused children of crimes.

The magistrate declined their request, said the teen’s lawyer, Brad Loper. He argued the 14-year-old had family support and had no juvenile criminal history. He plans to request his release again later this month.

The teen has not yet been charged with capital murder, as an adult can be in most situations. Prosecutors, who approved his arrest and detention, have about a month to file a motion to have the teen charged.

“It’s important to keep in mind that we are dealing with a child,” Loper said. “I am confident that my client will receive fair and judicious treatment from the system.”

Investigators have identified the second teen, but there remains a person of interest in the shooting.

The death also highlights a steady upward trend in the number of children charged with the deaths of others, which prosecutors and other stakeholders have been unable to explain.

Matt Shelton, deputy executive director of the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, said the number of homicide cases — which include murder and capital murder charges — has increased over the past year and a half. According to their records, 16 youths were charged in homicide cases through April of this year.

The department recorded 15 homicide cases during the same period last year, reaching 37 cases by the end of the year, according to county records. The number of cases decreased from 24 in 2022 to 21 in 2021. Only nine cases were filed in 2020, when the pandemic interrupted in-person teaching and legal proceedings.

Assistant District Attorney John Jordan described the trend as “a dramatic increase” as federal and local authorities continue to tout a decline in murders in Houston and elsewhere. Other juvenile cases also have been certified, a legal procedure that requires a state district court judge to allow the child to be charged as an adult, he said.

“For some reason in Houston we’ve had a problem with juvenile offenders committing aggravated robberies, murders and capital murders,” Jordan said. “I can’t tell you why, but in the last three or four years, the number of homicides we report on juveniles has doubled since the pandemic.”

Many cases involve children accused of botched thefts and drug trafficking, he said.

“That’s why we take robbery so seriously,” Jordan continued. “We know we are on the verge of capital murder. »