HOUSTON -- A second person has been arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with the shooting death of Harris County deputy Fernando Esqueda, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
Dremone Francis, 26, was arrested and charged with capital murder, Gonzalez said in an 11 a.m. post on X.
It's unclear when Francis was taken into custody. Charging documents weren't immediately available Sunday morning.
Esqueda, 28, was shot and killed late Wednesday while responding to a report of an aggravated assault at a Little Caesars restaurant in northeast Harris County.
The sheriff's office previously had said officers were looking for only one shooter in connection with the fatal encounter. Ronald Palmer. 44, was arrested Thursday and charged on suspicion of capital murder and with two counts of assault in connection with Esqueda's death and the complaint at the pizza shop.
Palmer is accused of shooting Esqueda, who was in uniform, in an ambush-style attack, according to police.
During a probable cause hearing Friday, officials said there were other people at the shop with Palmer at the time of the assault and that at least one witness cooperated with police. Palmer is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
The are multiple variations of capital murder charges in Texas law, and it wasn't immediately clear which section Francis was charged under. Under state law, a person can be charged with capital murder if someone died in the commission of another felony, if the murder was committed for payment or promise of payment, or if the victim was a police officer or firefighter.
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