Police and deputy constables across the Houston area worked together to find a little boy at the center of a domestic assault and AMBER Alert early Tuesday morning.
The Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office was searching for Preston Fears, age 6, in the Spring area. An AMBER Alert was issued for his abduction around 3 a.m.
Deputies identified the suspect in the case as Brandon Spears, 37. They noted the man already had warrants for his arrest and that he had "violent tendencies."
Thankfully, less than two hours after the AMBER Alert was issued, the suspect was in custody and the child was said to be physically unharmed.
“This is an example of a story that has a very good ending,” Constable Mark Herman said at a later press conference.
He said his deputies early Tuesday received a call about domestic violence on Clear Wing Court off Aldine Westfield. They found a mother who had been assaulted. She said the suspect, her ex-boyfriend, had fled the scene with her little boy and her cell phone.
Deputies said the child, who has autism, was not related to the man who took him.
The AMBER Alert was issued, and authorities started trying to track the cell phone’s location.
Houston police later spotted the suspect on I-45 and chased him until the front tire on his vehicle blew out, Constable Herman said. The suspect was then arrested, and the child was located unharmed.
“The streets of Harris County are much safer,” said Constable Herman.
Authorities noted Spears has a “lengthy criminal history” and recently got out of prison. Houston police have now filed felony evading and child endangerment charges against him. Mark Herman’s office has also filed a charge of kidnaping and family violence against him.
As of the 10 a.m. press conference, no bond had been set, and the constable noted he hoped the suspect would not be given bond.
“This is one of those situations where we have an obvious career criminal,” said Herman. “We thank the Man upstairs for not allowing him to hurt this child.”
Herman also applauded the cooperation between his department and Houston police along with other law enforcement agencies that searched for the suspect.
“The mother has been reunited with her child.”