Plain-clothes deputy shoots, kills man in Missouri City neighborhood

The 15100 block of East Ritter Circle is seen on Google Maps Street View in October 2018. The 15100 block of East Ritter Circle is seen on Google Maps Street View in October 2018. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Plain-clothes deputy shoots, kills man in Missouri City neighborhood 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A plain-clothes Harris County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man in a Missouri City neighborhood Wednesday morning.

The deputy was one of several members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force who were attempting to arrest a man on a Mesquite capital murder charge around 6 a.m. in the 15100 block of East Ritter Circle, near Airport and McLain boulevards. The deputy was inside a car when a neighbor walked up and tapped on the window, according to Harris County Sheriff's Office Chief Tim Navarre.

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The man was carrying a flashlight and a BB gun, which Navarre said looked like a handgun. The man had been tasked by his neighbors with watching over a home on the block that had recently been burglarized, witnesses told detectives.

As he rolled down the window, the deputy pulled his gun and exchanged words with the man, Navarre said. What they said to each other is unclear.

At some point, the man lowered his flashlight and allegedly raised his gun, which is when the deputy opened fire - striking the man once. The man ran to his car parked in a nearby driveway, where he died.

The capital murder suspect was nowhere to be found. He later turned himself to Mesquite police, Navarre said.

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com