Spring ISD student ID'd as armed robber killed at Raising Cane's

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office investigates an officer-involved shooting at a Raising Cane's in Shenandoah on Nov. 22. Montgomery County Sheriff's Office investigates an officer-involved shooting at a Raising Cane's in Shenandoah on Nov. 22. Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Spring ISD student ID'd as armed robber killed at Raising Cane's 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

A family's fears were confirmed Wednesday when a 17-year-old Spring Dekaney High School student was identified as the lone robber who was shot and killed in an armed robbery Nov. 22 at Raising Cane's in Shenandoah.

Montgomery County Sheriff's officials identified Elijah Mark Cobb as the robber who died when off-duty Deputy Prudencio Ochoa shot Cobb at the restaurant in the 1500 block of Research Forest Drive. Cobb rushed into the chicken fingers restaurant and brandished a gun, demanding money from employees.

Ochoa, who was working a private security job at the time of the robbery, ordered Cobb to drop his weapon, but Cobb refused. That's when Ochoa fatally shot Cobb.

READ THE INITIAL REPORT: Officer kills robber at Raising Cane's restaurant

Cobb's family members last heard from him Nov. 22, according to his older sister Alexis Davison, who said she had feared the worst.

"Nobody's seen him," said Davison, who contacted The Courier Wednesday. "My little sister goes to school with him, and she said she hasn't seen him in a week."

Representatives with Spring ISD were unable to immediately confirm whether Cobb has attended class since the Thanksgiving break.

Davison reached out to The Courier about a story posted online Tuesday reporting that law enforcement had yet to identify the robber, who she was believed was her "baby brother."

An employee who witnessed the encounter said the officer shot multiple times after the robber would not put down the weapon. However, no identification was found on the dead male and no abandoned vehicle was found in the area.

Davison said she and other family members thought Cobb could be the deceased robber.

"His friends at school, they found a way to get in contact with me," Davison said. "They said it's been going around the school that my little brother's been shot and that he did a robbery at the Raising Cane's."

Davison said family members reached out to law enforcement Wednesday to help positively identify Cobb. His body is sitting in the Montgomery County Forensic Services building awaiting completion of an autopsy.

Cobb has never been in trouble with law enforcement, to the best of Davison's knowledge. Any would-be criminal history records would not be public record due to Cobb being a juvenile.

Davison said Cobb's death was especially hard on her since the day of the shooting was special to her.

"It hurts so much, because last Tuesday was me and my twin brother's birthday," Davison said. "I had a bad day when I first woke up."

Law enforcement officials had trouble positively identifying the robber at first since none of his fingerprints matched those in a nationwide database. There was no identification on him and no vehicle was found in the area.

During the robbery, Ochoa ordered Cobb to drop his weapon, but the robber refused to comply, Lt. Brady Fitzgerald said.

"In an effort to neutralize the threat that was posed to himself and the patrons at that location," Fitzgerald said Tuesday, "he opened fire on the subject."

Ochoa was placed on paid administrative leave immediately after the shooting, per MCSO policy. It is up to command staff to determine if, when, and how the deputy will be placed back on duty.

Although the shooting happened inside the city of Shenandoah, Texas Rangers are conducting an independent investigation into the shooting alongside MCSO and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. Fitzgerald said the Shenandoah Police Department is assisting in the investigation.

The DA's office will present the case to a grand jury, as it does with every officer-involved shooting in the county, according to Chief Prosecutor Tyler Dunman.

Speaking of the process, Dunman said presenting each case to a grand jury holds law enforcement officers accountable as well as protects them.

"If the grand jury felt the officer's conduct was illegal or there were some other issues, that is the stage at which they would pursue charges against the officer," Dunman said.

Ochoa can be placed back on full duty before a grand jury determines if criminal charges are necessary, Fitzgerald said.