HOUSTON — A carjacking suspect has been charged with four felonies after he allegedly killed a man and lunged at police with a kitchen knife.
The suspect has been identified as 27-year-old Ronnie Dwayne Cesear, Jr. He has been charged with capital murder, aggravated assault against a peace officer and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Cesear currently remains hospitalized after being shot twice by police.
Before the shooting, Cesear allegedly carjacked a construction worker and then ran him over before crashing into the lobby area of an apartment building in the 800 block of Buffalo Park Drive along Buffalo Bayou.
The construction worker, identified as 67-year-old Carl Hayes, died
"He was good, he was kind," his sister told KHOU 11's Jason Miles.
A concierge, who was in the lobby at the time of the crash, ran into an office to hide from the Cesear. Police said Cesear then backed up and drove the truck into that office in an attempt to hit the concierge, but luckily, he was not hurt.
A 51-year-old building manager went to confront Cesear during the mayhem and Cesear allegedly stabbed him in the back, fortunately, he survived his injuries.
“This was a senseless incident," said Houston Police Chief Troy Finner. "I don’t know what the motivation is, if you can even describe it, what would motivate somebody to do this."
When police arrived on scene they confronted Cesear and told him repeatedly to drop his knife, investigators said. Cesear disobeyed commands and allegedly lunged at the officers who then opened fire on him, striking him twice.
Cesear was taken to a nearby hospital where he currently remains.
The officers who discharged their weapons have been identified as HPD Officers D. Alagna and M. Medina. They were both assigned to the Central Patrol Division.
Officer Alagna was sworn in as an officer in March 2017 and Officer Medina in December 2019.
Neither one of them was injured in this incident.