HOUSTON -- Houston Police Department s Homicide Division told KHOU 11 News it has three detectives focusing on Harlem Harold Lewis III, the alleged shooter in the Bellaire Christmas Eve shooting. Detectives want to learn as much about him as they can.
They also want to know why he was in the city of Bellaire on the day of the shootings that took the lives of Sgt. Jimmie Norman and business owner Terry Taylor.
Court records show that the Harlem Harold Lewis III lives in an apartment off the Gulf Freeway near Edgebrook. No one answered the door Friday afternoon.
Sources within HPD Homicide said the gun that was used to shoot both men was stolen. It was taken from a small community outside of the Houston area.
KHOU 11 News also has learned that Lewis was in jail just one month ago.
He was caught by loss prevention officers at a Macy's store in Willowbrook Mall, stealing three pairs of earrings and three bracelets. He pled guilty and spent six days in the Harris County Jail.
The Liberty County Sheriff's Office said Lewis was in jail there too. Back in March, he was sentenced and served 90 days in jail for possession of marijuana.
It is unclear what Lewis' upbringing was like, but we learned from investigators that his father, Harlem Harold Lewis Jr., was sentenced to 50 years in prison for distribution of illegal narcotics in 1994 -- just three years after his son was born.
Lewis Jr. is currently out of Texas Department of Corrections on parole. He will be on parole until 2044. Court documents show he has a long criminal history that includes convictions for injury to a child, armed robbery, and drugs.
