HOUSTON — The man who allegedly gunned down Precinct 5 Cpl. Charles Galloway had been on the run for 25 years before his arrest on the capital murder charge, District attorney Kim Ogg said.
We learned new details about Oscar Rosales and his criminal history Thursday in a news conference with all the law enforcement agencies involved in his arrest Wednesday in Mexico.
Ogg called Rosales a "professional criminal" who had changed his identity multiple times since 1996 after a warrant was issued on an aggravated assault charge in Harris County. She said Rosales was also wanted for murder in El Salvador, one of the countries he's lived in over the years.
Ogg said Rosales has changed his name so many times that they don't know his real name yet, or his immigration status.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner described Rosales actions as "sheer evilness, evilness."
"How can a person do that to another human being?" the chief said.
Finner said they received some tips from the public and investigators worked tirelessly to find him and put him behind bars.
“We take care of our citizens and we take care of our family," Finner said.
"I’ve been in law enforcement for 40 years in different capacities, but I’ve never seen such a collaborative effort," U.S. Marshal T. Michael O’Connor said.
“Let’s not forget what has happened. We’re here under very tragic circumstances and I hope and pray this is somewhat closure, at least at this stage, for the family. God bless the family.”
Pct. 5 Constable Ted Heap expressed gratitude on behalf of Galloway's family to the federal, state and local agencies who helped "capture this violent criminal to be taken off the street."
“They realize it was a team effort to be able to bring the murderer of their brother and father to justice," Heap said.
No bond for Oscar Rosales
Rosales faced a judge late Wednesday where his attorney asked for a $100,000 bond but the judge ordered him held without bond in connection with the murder of Galloway.
"In listening to the arguments of both attorneys regards to bond, I'm inclined to set a no bond in this case,” the judge said
"All people such as Oscar Rosales, who have been violent, who are repeatedly violent should be kept in jail pending their trial," Ogg said.
Wearing a yellow jumpsuit and flanked by at least seven officers, the 51-year-old listened as his charges were translated in Spanish.
More was also revealed about Rosales' background, including that he is a citizen of Guatemala who was born in Mexico. He has been living in the Houston area for the last 20 years working as a mechanic.
Rosales' arrest
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez said Rosales was taken into custody by Mexican authorities in cooperation with the U.S. Marshal's Service and the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force.
“It was a good, coordinated effort by all agencies involved to take this individual into custody," Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez said.
Hours after his arrest, HPD investigators arrived in Del Rio to take Rosales into custody and transport him back to Houston.
Upon his arrival in Houston, Rosales was placed in Galloway's handcuffs, Jeff McShan with Precinct 5 confirmed to KHOU 11.
Corporal Galloway's 'ruthless' murder
The Houston Police Department is leading the investigation into what happened. According to court documents, HPD investigators were allowed to view bodycam and dashcam footage of the deadly shooting.
Investigators said that just after midnight on Jan. 23, Galloway turned on his emergency lights to pull over a white Toyota Avalon, later determined to have been driven by Rosales.
According to court documents, the Avalon continued at a slow pace before stopping near the 9100 block of Beechnut Street. As Galloway was notifying dispatch of the stop, the driver stepped out of the car with a rifle and pointed it at him.
Dashcam footage shows the driver firing multiple shots at Galloway, court documents stated. After the shooting, according to court documents, the driver got back in the car and drove away.
Evidence against Rosales
HPD and Houston Fire Department units responded to the scene, where they found Galloway in his patrol car with multiple gunshot wounds. Galloway was pronounced dead at the scene at about 5 a.m. His official cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the left side of his face, according to court documents.
According to court documents, detectives searched the plates on the Avalon and found that the vehicle is registered to Reina Azucena Pereira Marquez, with a listed address in the 5500 block of Calm Court, in Houston.
When investigators arrived at Reina Marquez's residence, they made contact with her, and she claimed ownership of the car.
According to court documents, Reina Marquez told investigators that her common-law husband of 17 years, Oscar Rosales, picked up the car at about midnight and left his white Dodge Ram truck in the driveway.
Rosales told Reina Marquez that he was going hunting or shooting with friends, court documents say. Reina Marquez told investigators that she saw Rosales take two long guns from a safe before he left.
Reina Marquez was able to identify her vehicle and Rosales as the shooter in photos provided by investigators, court records said.
Alleged accomplices charged
According to court documents, investigators found out that the Avalon was parked at an apartment complex in the 4000 block of South Highway 6.
Investigators said they found out that a unit at the complex was registered in Reina Marquez's name.
Authorities arrived at the complex at about 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 and saw a man, later identified as Henri Mauricio Pereira Marquez (Reina Azucena Pereira Marquez's brother), wiping down the door handles of the car, according to court documents.
Reina Marquez said she met her brother at the apartment and that the cleaning supplies used to clean the car were inside the unit, court documents stated.
Reina Marquez and Henri Marquez have been charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the case. Court records show they were arrested on Sunday.