Harris County District Attorney Ogg pushes for probe in FBI shooting of kidnapping victim













Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Image 1 of 4 Ernesto Villadares, brother of Ulises Villadares, speaks to the media Friday across from his brother's home where Ulises and his son were bound by a pair of men on Wednesday. The father was taken away by the kidnappers and later killed during an FBI raid Thursday morning. less Ernesto Villadares, brother of Ulises Villadares, speaks to the media Friday across from his brother's home where Ulises and his son were bound by a pair of men on Wednesday. The father was taken away by the ... more Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Image 2 of 4 Jimmy Tony Sanchez, 38, is seen outside the 9th state District court at the Lee G. Alworth Building, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, in Conroe. Sanchez, along with Nicholas Chase Cunningham, 42, and Sophia Perez Heath, 35, were arrested Jan. 25 at two different locations on first-degree felony charges in connection with the kidnapping of Ulises Villadares from his home in Conroe on Jan. 24. An FBI agent later killed Villadares during a predawn operation in northeast Houston. less Jimmy Tony Sanchez, 38, is seen outside the 9th state District court at the Lee G. Alworth Building, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, in Conroe. Sanchez, along with Nicholas Chase Cunningham, 42, and Sophia Perez ... more Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Image 3 of 4 Nicholas Chase Cunningham, 42, makes his way to the 9th state District court at the Lee G. Alworth Building, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, in Conroe. Cunningham, along with Jimmy Tony Sanchez, 38, and Sophia Perez Heath, 35, were arrested Jan. 25 at two different locations on first-degree felony charges in connection with the kidnapping of Ulises Villadares from his home in Conroe on Jan. 24. An FBI agent later killed Villadares during a predawn operation in northeast Houston. less Nicholas Chase Cunningham, 42, makes his way to the 9th state District court at the Lee G. Alworth Building, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, in Conroe. Cunningham, along with Jimmy Tony Sanchez, 38, and Sophia Perez ... more Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Image 4 of 4 Sophia Perez Heath, 35, is seen In the 9th state District court at the Lee G. Alworth Building, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, in Conroe. Heath, along with Jimmy Tony Sanchez, 38, and Nicholas Chase Cunningham, 42, were arrested Jan. 25 at two different locations on first-degree felony charges in connection with the kidnapping of Ulises Villadares from his home in Conroe on Jan. 24. Villadares was later killed by an FBI agent during a predawn operation in northeast Houston. less Sophia Perez Heath, 35, is seen In the 9th state District court at the Lee G. Alworth Building, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, in Conroe. Heath, along with Jimmy Tony Sanchez, 38, and Nicholas Chase Cunningham, 42, ... more Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Harris County District Attorney Ogg pushes for probe in FBI shooting of kidnapping victim 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Months after an FBI agent in Houston shot and killed a kidnapping victim during a rescue operation, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg took the unusual step Tuesday of publicly pressing U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick on whether he intends to review the shooting case.

Ulises Valladares, 47, was kidnapped in Montgomery County in late January. Conroe police contacted the FBI for assistance, and agents tracked Valladares to a home in northeast Houston. Early the next morning, an FBI SWAT team moved in to rescue him, but an agent shot him instead.

The FBI has declined to provide any details of the operation leading to Valladares’ death, in marked contrast to how Houston-area and Harris County law enforcement agencies publicly handle officer-involved shootings. The agency declined to identify the agent who shot Valladares.

Perrye Turner, the special agent in charge of the Houston Field Office, waited several days before issuing a statement on Twitter that said the FBI “takes very seriously any shooting incident.” The statement also said the agency looked forward to working with the U.S. Attorney's Office, and state and local officials in their review of the shooting.

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The Houston Police Department, which did not participate in the rescue operation, investigated the shooting, along with the FBI’s Inspection Division.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo released the most complete account of rescue attempt. Acevedo said his officers questioned the agent, who told them he used his rifle to break through a window at the rear of the home where Valladares was being held. The hostage victim, who was bound with duct tape and left in a dark room, grabbed the gun.

The agent made a “split-second decision” to shoot because he feared losing control of the weapon, Acevedo said at the time. Montgomery County prosecutors ultimately charged two men with kidnapping and aggravated robbery, and also brought kidnapping charges against a woman found at the northeast Houston home where Valladares was shot.

While the DA’s office routinely reviews shootings of civilians by peace officers in Harris County, FBI agents had not shot anyone here since 2005, putting Patrick in the position of having to potentially investigate — and possibly prosecute — a federal agent.

FBI agents are rarely punished for shootings; a 2013 New York Times investigation found that between 1993 to early 2011, every one of the 150 shootings was deemed justified.

Patrick, a former district judge and the son of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, was sworn in as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas in January. Before his federal appointment, he served as a state district court judge between 2012 and 2016, and before that, as a Harris County prosecutor.

A spokeswoman for Patrick’s office said Tuesday that she could not comment on “the existence or lack thereof of any potential investigation or case on any matter not otherwise a part of the public court record.”

Reached late Tuesday, an FBI spokeswoman referred to the department’s January statement. Conroe police declined to comment.

In her letter, Ogg informed Patrick that Houston police had completed their investigation of the January shooting and asked which agency should review the case to see whether it merited prosecution.

“Our concurrent jurisdiction in this matter gives rise to the question of which sovereign (government) is best suited and equipped to handle the prosecutorial review that must ensue anytime life is lost during an engagement with law enforcement,” Ogg wrote. “Especially when the deceased victim is the hostage who was to be rescued.”

“I need an answer from you as soon as practicable,” she wrote. “Both the victim and the agent deserve our response.”

A law enforcement source familiar with the case said Ogg sent the letter after informal conversations between the two prosecutor’s offices, and since Patrick’s office was noncommittal about whether it would exercise its jurisdiction.

A former federal prosecutors questioned the need to publicly ask Patrick about his intentions with the case.

“It’s highly unusual. Why don't they just consult and talk?” said Patrick’s predecessor in the federal post, Kenneth Magidson. “She’s put the spotlight on him. Is this an example of coordinated federal and state and local law enforcement working together? Would you say that’s a good example of coordination?”

st.john.smith@chron.com

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