A Houston restaurant became a controversial crime scene last year when an armed patron shot and killed a would-be robber, and a Texas grand jury has finally decided his fate.
Texas grand jury won’t file charges against vigilante shooter
The grand jury has recently made the decision to not charge the shooter, who was described as acting to protect the people who were present in the establishment.
The shooter fired nine shots at 30-year-old Eric Eugene Washington, with one bullet delivering a fatal blow to the head.
On January 5, 2023, Washington entered the El Ranchito taqueria brandishing what appeared to be a gun but was later revealed to be a plastic replica.
Inside the restaurant, he proceeded to rob the terrified patrons with the fake weapon.
Texas grand jury determines anonymous shooter is “no billed”
Security footage from the event captured the moment when the customer, a 46-year-old individual who has chosen to keep his identity concealed from the public, shot Washington as he attempted to flee.
CAUGHT ON VIDEO: A customer at a taqueria shot and killed a robber at the restaurant on S. Gessner in southwest Houston, police said.
Read: https://t.co/3M4zQSUx2G pic.twitter.com/XQH8r8yHus
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) January 6, 2023
He then returned the stolen possessions and cash to the other patrons of the restaurant.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced that the grand jury has “no billed” the shooter, indicating that no charges will be filed for the incident.
According to the anonymous shooter’s lawyer, Texas’ self-defense laws justified his actions in protecting himself and others.
“In fear of his life and his friend’s life my client acted to protect everyone in the restaurant,” his attorney said in a statement last January.
“In Texas, a shooting is justified in self-defense, defense of others and in defense of property.”
The shooter’s lawyer added that his client understands the gravity of taking a life and is deeply affected by the event, which is why he chose to remain anonymous as is allowed by Texas’ self-defense laws.
Texas grand jury sides with shooter after robbery turned homicide
The robbery was a traumatic experience for the approximately ten customers present in the restaurant, who complied with his demands while they were unaware that his firearm was fake.
The shooter only realized once he grabbed the gun and threw it against a wall.
Police determined after the fact that the weapon was “a plastic pistol possibly an aero soft or possibly a little BB pistol.”
Despite using a fake gun, Washington was a violent, career criminal with a lengthy record.
He was convicted of the murder of a Boost Mobile store in 2015, after he shot the man in the back during an armed robbery.
Washington was sentenced to 15 years, but paroled in 2021 after serving just six.
At the time he robbed the taqueria, he was on bond for domestic violence against his girlfriend.
