Sergeant Richard Houston, II
Officer: Mesquite Police Department, Police Officer Richard Houston, II
Date: 12/3/2021 Location: Mesquite, TX FACTORS (1,2,7,8,9,15,18,19)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Jamie Jaramillo
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Unknown./ Yes, Jaramillo’s wife was harassing his accused lover.
Mental Illness: Unknown.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown./ None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: Latino/Male/37
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At approximately 1:40 p.m. on December 3, 2021, Mesquite Police Officer Richard Houston, II responded to a 911 call of a disturbance at an Albertson’s parking lot. At the scene Officer Houston first spoke with Juventina Vasquez Bences who reported her husband, Jamie Jaramillo was cheating with another woman in a car parked in the shopping center’s lot. Next, Officer Houston walked over to speak with Jaramillo.
Actions taken by subject toward police: As Officer Houston walked towards him, Jaramillo pulled out a concealed gun and shot the officer twice, killing him, before shooting himself in the head.
Reactions by the police: Responding officers rendered first aid and Officer Houston and Jaramillo were both transported for medical care, but Officer Houston did not survive. Jaramillo was treated and after a week was released from the hospital and taken into police custody.
How murdered? Officer Houston was shot at close range while questioning a man about a domestic disturbance in the parking lot.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? Officer Houston was wearing his body armor and conducting routine questioning for a rather mundane disturbance call, he had no reason to suspect Jaramillo would be pulling a gun on him.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? Officer Houston would have had to reasonably believe Jaramillo was accessing a weapon as his hand went into his pocket/waist area as he approached for him to justify drawing his duty weapon and shooting the man on what was a relatively innocuous 911 call.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Jaramillo was arrested and faces charges of capital murder of a peace officer.
Miscellaneous: This is where reporters should do their job and find out why Jaramillo would go from not having even committed a crime during the disturbance into becoming a cop killer – was he afraid the cop would find out he was an illegal immigrant, that he illegally possessed a weapon, something else?
