19-year-old charged in incident near Greenspoint Mall

2022-05-28 20:59:35 By : Ms. Frieda Ann

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Houston police respond to a scene.

A 19-year-old man has been charged in connection to a Monday incident — during which a Houston police officer fired a duty weapon— near Greenspoint Mall, according to Houston police.

Raymont Pierre faces a possession of a prohibited weapon charge in connection to the incident, court records show. He did not have a lawyer listed in online court records as of Tuesday night.

Police say they responded to the 12300 block of North Freeway — the mall’s parking lot — to serve Pierre aggravated assault and criminal mischief felony warrants, and they found him in a white Nissan Altima. 

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“Officers knew Pierre was possibly in possession of a weapon and used a vehicle containment technique to prevent him from fleeing,” a police release read. “Officers gave Pierre voice commands to which he responded by opening the car door, bending down, and making furtive movements.”

That’s when police say Officer A. Lopez — who has been on the force for almost five years — fired. The shot hit the side door frame of the Nissan, which Pierre then got out of, police said. 

He was brought into custody, and authorities also detained two other people who were in the vehicle, according to police. The others were released later on. 

Police say Pierre, Lopez and the vehicle’s occupants all were not injured. 

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A charging document alleged Pierre “unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly possess[ed] a machine gun” that was not registered. Police said they’d found a semi-automatic pistol in the vehicle on the driver’s side. 

Houston Police Department’s internal affairs division and its special investigations unit are investigating the incident. 

Leah Brennan is a Hearst fellow working for the Houston Chronicle's Metro desk. 

Before doing her first year as a fellow in Connecticut,  she interned twice with Baltimore Sun Media - including with the Carroll County Times - and was the editor in chief of the University of Maryland's student newspaper, The Diamondback.