By Nicole Hensley
Source Houston Chronicle
It took about 25 minutes for wanted parolee Robert Solis to kill Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal during a 2019 traffic stop. It took jurors the same amount of time to convict him.
The defendant, with nearly two dozen deputies standing behind him, showed no reaction as jurors found him guilty Monday of capital murder for a shooting that followed Dhaliwal's decision to pull him over for running a stop sign. Later, he spouted profanities as he addressed the jury about the proposed punishment, prompting an admonishment from Judge Chris Morton.
"I'm a little emotional — I just got convicted of capital murder," said Solis, flanked by several bailiffs.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Warren told jurors to anticipate hearing from those who encountered Solis in the past, including a woman whom he raped and impregnated when she was a minor.
Solis "wormed his way" into the life of another woman, a widow, and her three children after she received a hefty insurance payout, Warren continued. She is also expected to testify.
"Leaving him anywhere other than death row is too great a risk to take," Warren said.
Solis continued to express frustration at the verdict and lashed out.
"Since you found me guilty, give me the death penalty," Solis said. "That's what I deserve. That's what it's there for."
The guilty verdict follows a week of testimony in which Solis brazenly fired the three attorneys — Allen Isbell, Jimmy Ortiz and Mandy Miller — who had strategized his defense for the past three years, deciding instead to represent himself. He waited until Monday, just before closing arguments, to ask those lawyers to come back.
Each one, when asked by the court, declined to return.
For most of the week, Solis tried stalling the trial, citing stomach issues and his lack of access to evidence at the Harris County Jail to prepare his defense. He addressed jurors Friday and professed his innocence. At one point, he claimed to have vomited in front of the jurors.
The judge allowed Solis to have longer access to the jail law library to bolster his defense.
Solis is one of the few pending cases in Harris County where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Of the nearly 200 people on Texas' death row, about 70 are from Harris County. Lucky Ward, convicted in 2020 after strangling four people to death, was the last defendant sentenced to death.
Testimony related to the punishment is expected to last through the week.
Solis volunteered to take the witness stand and questioned himself about the September 2019 shooting.
He admitted to lying to Dhaliwal about his identity and believed the deputy falsely imprisoned him, going on to contend that the shooting was accidental amid his botched attempt at a so-called citizen's arrest.
"I realized that there were several offenses that I would be able to arrest the deputy for," Solis stated.
The deputy's body camera footage shown in court captured the moment Solis rushed out of the stopped vehicle with a gun drawn and bombarded him with commands to not move and to put his hands in the air. In one hand, Dhaliwal was holding his notepad and in the other, a pen.
"He complied, did everything I asked," Solis continued. "When I pushed him up against the vehicle and ran his hand down his back to go for his handcuffs, he moved, jerked very quickly."
What happened next, Solis asked himself.
"Because of the position I had the weapon in, I lost control," the defendant said, appearing to become emotional in front of the jurors. "I lost control of it. I accidentally pulled the trigger and it discharged."
Prosecutors later likened his show of sadness to "crocodile tears."
Solis testified for nearly a hour — a decision that allowed prosecutors to pepper him with questions.
While acknowledging that Dhaliwal was kind, polite and respectful toward him during the traffic stop, he ultimately perceived the deputy as showing "micro-aggressions" toward him. Solis believed the deputy at one point "flicked the strap" on his holster weapon.
During the traffic stop, and unbeknownst to Dhaliwal, Solis was wanted for a parole violation and had a gun tucked into his pants after failing to convince his passenger, Jennifer Saiz, to take it, according to testimony. As a convicted felon, it was illegal for Solis to possess the weapon.
Saiz did not warn Dhaliwal that Solis was armed or that he was a wanted man. She left the vehicle in the minutes before Dhaliwal was shot after growing increasingly annoyed with Solis' lies. She later met with investigators at the shopping center where Solis was apprehended, according to testimony.
"Yeah, I lied," Solis said. "I wasn't 100 percent truthful. I bent the truth. That's not a reason for me to jump out of the car and cold-blooded kill someone.
According to prosecutors, Solis lied about his name, date of birth, driver's license and having served in the Navy.
"The biggest whoppers you've ever heard," another prosecutor, Lauren Bard, told jurors.
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