A bounty hunter shot and killed a 24-year-old man in Texas wanted for jumping bail in a domestic assault case as the fugitive tried to flee in his car with his fiancée and 3-month-old child inside.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the bounty hunter was looking for bail jumper Elmer Leija Monday at the Park Falls apartment complex on Park Row Drive in Houston, when the fugitive made a getaway.
The bounty hunter blocked Leija's pick-up truck at the front gate of the development and approached him at gun point. Investigators said Leija then tried to run over the bounty hunter, who opened fire and killed him, The Houston Chronicle reports.
Neither passenger was hurt. Investigators said the fugitive had an open warrant for an aggravated assault-family violence charge.
Elmer Leija, 24, allegedly tried to run over a bounty hunter who cornered him at a Houston apartment complex on October 11. The bounty hunter shot and killed him
Investigators arrived soon after the shooting at the parking lot outside the Park Falls apartments
Police said Leija's fiancée and child were in the car with him during the incident
The bounty hunter, whose name has not been released, tracked Leija down for forfeiting a bond, investigators said.
Leija was arrested in 2019 on felony assault charges of a family member reported in September 2018. Leija was granted a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, which allowed him to leave Harris County jail without putting cash down with a bail agent.
A bond forfeiture warrant was later put out for his arrest, and Montgomery County police officers took him into custody, and accused Leija of evading arrest and taking an officer's weapon.
Despite the allegations, Leija was released in July on a $35,000 bond, according to The Houston Chronicle.
The investigation is ongoing and the case has been referred to a Harris County grand jury
Sgt. Dennis Wolford, with the sheriff's office's homicide unit, said police were investigating whether the bounty hunter acted in self-defense and if he had a license to carry a firearm, ABC 13 reports.
Catherine Torrez, president of the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators, told The Houston Chronicle that bounty hunters must be licensed with the state, and some require security training if they carry a weapon.
The sheriff said the investigation is ongoing and that the case will be referred to a Harris County grand jury.
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