OAN’s Taylor Tinsley
4:25 PM – Monday, July 15, 2024
A second suspect has been charged in connection with the ambush killing of Harris County Sheriff’s deputy Fernando Esqueda.
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26-year-old Dremone Francis was charged with capital murder and tampering with evidence on Sunday, and has been booked into the Harris County Jail.
Francis is the second suspect to be charged in Esqueda’s murder.
44-year-old Ronald Palmer Jr. was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault following an hours-long manhunt last week.
Detectives said Francis admitted to getting rid of Palmer’s gun.
“The defendant also admitted that immediately after the murder of Deputy Esqueda, co-defendant Palmer gave him a pistol and a Mini Draco firearm and told him to get rid of them,” a prosecutor stated in court. “A witness stated the defendant dropped off a pistol and Mini Draco firearm in a black trash bag, told the witness the guns were hot, and to get rid of them.”
Police were called to a Little Caesars in Houston after Palmer allegedly pistol whipped and verbally assaulted a worker, because his pizza order didn’t look like the picture.
Esqueda responded to the area and called his fellow deputies when he believed to have spotted the suspects vehicle.
While on the phone with HCSO Esqueda was ambushed.
“Other detectives in the area went to his location and at that time they saw his undercover vehicle with multiple gun strikes in it,” said Chief Deputy Mike Lee. “They checked on him and he had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.”
Lee said based on the extent of Esqueda’s injuries, detectives opted out of waiting for EMS and took him to the nearest hospital in a patrol vehicle, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Investigators discovered 41 shell casings on the scene.
Palmer is currently jailed on a $100,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge on Monday to decide his bond on the capital murder charge.
Francis’s’ bond, on the other hand, is currently set at $500,000. He is expected to appear before a magistrate judge on Tuesday.
28-year-old Esqueda was a five-year veteran on the force.
He was honored in a procession on Monday, as dozens joined to pay tribute to the fallen deputy.
Officers also shared details about his public funeral services.
A viewing will be held Thursday, July 18, 2024, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 2405 Navigation Blvd. A rosary will occur from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
A funeral mass will occur Friday, July 19, 2024, at 10:00 AM at Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 1111 St. Joseph Pkwy.
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