MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — Three Houston men are facing murder charges after authorities said they shot and killed a 37-year-old man in front of his wife on Thursday morning.
Authorities said it happened early in the morning at the couple's house along Morgan Cemetery Road, which is just west of US-69 between Splendora and Cleveland.
Steven Santillan's wife called 911 around 3:20 a.m. and said three men in ski masks entered the house and shot her husband multiple times and then left.
According to authorities with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Splendora police officers were in the area when the call came in. Splendora officers reported that they saw a car speeding by them and then pulling into a gas station near where the shooting happened. Officers tried to talk to the men, but two of them got back in the car and drove away, leaving the third man at the gas station.
Officers chased the car for a little while before the suspects ended up crashing on US-59 near Fostoria Road, which is about 10 miles away from the house where Santillan was killed. After a brief foot chase after the crash, the suspects were taken into custody, officials said.
Police identified the suspects as Andre Franklin, 26, Derrick Wilson, 27, and Jose Gutierrez, 23, all from Houston. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, they've all been charged with capital murder and have extensive violent criminal histories.
It's unclear why the men killed Santillan, but investigators said they're working to determine a motive.