Houston jury will not charge man who killed robber at Houston taqueria

A grand jury has decided not to file any charges against a man who shot and killed a robber in a southwest Houston taqueria last year.  

On Jan. 5, 2023, 30-year-old Eric Eugene Washington walked into El Ranchito taqueria on South Gessner Road right before 11:30 pm waving what appeared to be a gun at customers to give up their belongings.  

After Washington had robbed several customers, a 46-year-old man stood up and shot Washington in response.  

The man is yet to be identified, according to KHOU. After investigators looked into the incident, Washington had been carrying an air-powered pellet gun.

There were calls to charge the shooter at the time of the incident by activists in Houston who called the shooter a "vigilante killer" and that it went "beyond self-defense." 

Quantell X, the leader of the New Black Panther Nation in Houston, said of the shooter, "That man went from being a law-abiding citizen to now committing criminal acts and criminal crimes," according to KHOU.

The grand jury thought differently and did not pursue any charges and the owner of the taqueria, Pedro Lopez, supported the jury's decision. 

According to the police and surveillance footage, the man who shot Washington, after killing the robber, collected the money and belongings of the patrons and returned it to them. All the customers left before the police arrived.  

District Attorney, Kim Ogg, told Click 2 Houston, that grand juries are required to review all homicide cases and determine the appropriate outcome.  

The Harris County grand juries are comprised of 12 people who will then review for three months all criminal charges and decide if there is enough evidence to charge in a given case.  

“This process ensures that members of the community, rather than the District Attorney’s Office, determine the appropriate outcome in all homicides in Harris County,” a statement from Ogg’s office said.