Holly MatkinCiudad Acuna, Mexico – The gunman accused of murdering Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office Corporal Charles Galloway in an ambush attack was arrested in Mexico on Wednesday, according to police.
Oscar Rosales, 51, was captured across the border from Del Rio, Texas, through a cooperative effort among Mexican authorities, the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force, and the U.S. Marshals Service, KHOU reported.
Arrangements were being made to have the alleged cop-killer extradited back to Harris County.
Rosales has been charged with capital murder in the death of Cpl. Galloway.
Two other suspects, Reina Marquez and Henri Marquez, were arrested in Houston on Sunday on charges of tampering with evidence in connection with the case, KHOU reported.
They were allegedly seen wiping down the vehicle Rosales was driving at the time of the attack, according to police.
Reina Marquez is Rosales’ wife, and Henri Marquez is his brother-in-law, according to KTRK.
The Marquez siblings were both being held on $100,000 bond.
Reina posted bond as of Wednesday afternoon, but remained in jail due to an immigration hold, KTRK reported.
We haven't forgotten about the wife and brother-in-law of Oscar Rosales; who helped to destroy evidence and hide a cop killer. Henri Pereira-Marquez and Reina Pereira-Marquez are a flight risk and should be denied bail until they are tried for their crimes. #HouNews pic.twitter.com/zU4K2nukVi
— Houston Police Officers' Union (@HPOUTX) January 26, 2022
The attack on Cpl. Galloway occurred in the 9100-block of Beechnut Street at approximately 12:45 a.m. on Jan. 23, KHOU reported.
The 47-year-old corporal was conducting a traffic stop on a newer, white four-door Toyota Avalon when the driver suddenly got out of his vehicle and “immediately fired upon the deputy multiple times,” Houston Police Department (HPD) Chief Troy Finner told reporters.
Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heap said the deadly attack occurred before Cpl. Galloway even had time to react or to defend himself, KHOU reported.
The corporal was pronounced dead at the scene, according to KSAT.
The suspect, later identified as Rosales, fled the area immediately after the attack and remained on the loose until police apprehended him Wednesday.
Oscar Rosales, 51, is wanted and will be charged with the capital murder of @HCpct5 Corporal Charles Galloway.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts, please call @CrimeStopHOU 713-222-TIPS or HPD Homicide 713-308-3600. Reward up to $60K for info. #HouNews https://t.co/Cnl6jfpF1u pic.twitter.com/Dou3anIKdI
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) January 24, 2022
Constable Heap said the number of brazen attacks on the nations’ law enforcement officers is evidence of the degradation of society.
“When somebody decides to engage and take the life of a police officer because of a routine traffic stop, then I think we have a breakdown in how society is supposed to be,” he told KHOU. “We have got to put an end to this. I don’t want to raise my family, my grandchildren, in a county where this type of crime is running rampant.”
Cpl. Galloway served the HCSO for more than 12 years, KHOU reported.
He worked in many positions within the Patrol Division during his lengthy career.
Cpl. Galloway was most recently assigned to the agency’s Toll Road Division, where he served as a field training officer on night shifts, KHOU reported.
Constable Heap said the corporal was a mentor to many of the department’s younger officers.
“There is a lot of very broken up officers who he meant a lot in their lives because he was the one sitting in the front seat with him,” the constable said. “He was the one teaching them what to do and how to get home safely to their families and here we are this evening with the roles reversed.”
Cpl. Galloway leaves behind his daughter and his sisters, KHOU reported.
