Man accused of hiring hitman to kill Houston police officer for writing too many tickets

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo announces the arrest of a murder-for-hire suspect during a news conference on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Houston. Acevedo said that Mohammed Mohamed was arrested in connection with an attempt to hire a hit on a Houston Police officer. less Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo announces the arrest of a murder-for-hire suspect during a news conference on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Houston. Acevedo said that Mohammed Mohamed was arrested in connection ... more Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Man accused of hiring hitman to kill Houston police officer for writing too many tickets 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

A Houston business owner was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly hired a hitman to kill a police officer who gave him too many nuisance tickets.

In an elaborate ruse, police played along with the scheme and went so far as to fake the officer's death before arresting 47-year-old Mohammed Mohamed and charging him with solicitation of capital murder, Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday.

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"The suspect wanted the officer dead because he believed that the officer was interfering in his business operations," Acevedo said.

The plot unraveled in late May when a tipster came forward and alerted police to the plans, Acevedo said. The target was a member of the Houston Police Department's Differential Response Team, a small team that addresses quality-of-life issues in the city.

The unit focuses on unkempt lots, residential improprieties and ordinance violations. In this case, a slew of tickets for too many vehicles at the eastside logistics and shipping company ignited the man's anger, police said.

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To get his property up to code, Mohamed allegedly told a witness, would cost "tens of thousands" of dollars, officials said.

An undercover cop started meeting with the suspect, posing as a potential hitman. At first, Mohamed wanted to maim the officer by tossing acid in his face, but then he settled on a darker plan, police said.

"Due to the possibility of the suspect getting more tickets and additional penalties, he ended up deciding that, 'Naw, that's not enough. I don't want to just maim this officer,'" Acevedo said. "'I don't want to just injure this officer. I want him killed because that's the only way that this will go away.' The suspect specifically wanted to hire a hitman.

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"The man covered his face with bandanas and ball caps every time he met with the supposed triggerman, police said.

Though he was insistent on waiting until after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to carry out the killing, he forked over $500 to police at one after-dark meeting in Peiser Park, with the promise of another $1,500 to come when the crime was complete.

Police set up a murder scene and staged photos of the targeted officer appearing to be dead.

Afterward, the undercover officer met up with Mohamed one last time in the park, to show the images - and a SWAT team moved in to arrest him. In his pockets, police found the other $1,500 payment.

He's now in jail pending a court appearance, and Acevedo publicly pushed for no bond.

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Harris County prosecutors are also seeking no bond, saying he has access to about $2 million in assets.

"We talk a lot about bail in this county, that we have magistrates that seem to give out bail to violent suspects, to dangerous suspects," Acevedo said. "And we just want the magistrates to know - and the district judges who appoint them - that we will be watching closely."

The police chief pointed to the nature of Mohamed's charges and his ties to Egypt as reasons to label him a possible flight risk.

"If someone's willing to kill a member of the Houston Police Department because they got too many tickets, if someone's willing to attack someone with acid," Acevedo said, "that's a person that not only poses a serious threat to that officer but obviously poses a threat to this community."