A Texas police union is expressing anger after a man released by a judge on bail allegedly murdered an 80-year-old woman in a parking lot in broad daylight.
Randy Roszell Lewis, 38, was shot and killed by police over the weekend as he held a knife after they responded to a call that an 80-year-old disabled woman, Rosalie Cook, had been stabbed in the chest in a Walgreens parking lot, according to ABC 13.
“What makes me angry is that this suspect stabbed an 80-year-old woman,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said during a briefing from the scene. “He then goes down and starts rifling through her stuff and then tries to steal her car.”
“This is tragic, but the most tragedy here is a woman that has died from a guy who attacked her for no reason other than to steal from her and carjack her,” Acevedo added.
“The judge had not issued a warrant for his arrest even when he had absconded, so police did not even know to look for him, and unfortunately, this tragedy occurred before he could be returned to court.”
The Houston Police Officers Union posted a tweet on Monday, lamenting that Lewis, who has been arrested 67 times, was approved to be transferred to a private residential care facility in late April after two of his bonds were waived by a judge.
“Randy Lewis should never have been free. Now an innocent woman has been murdered. Everyone deserves better. This is absolutely shameful,” the tweet read.
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“The monster who stabbed, murdered, robbed an innocent 80 yr old grandmother over the weekend, has been arrested 67 times! And was out on 2 felony PR bonds! The colossal failure of bail and CJ reform in Houston is on full display here. Innocent people are dying. This has to STOP!!” the Fraternal Order of Police national vice president, Joe Gamaldi, tweeted.
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*see full story by The Washington Examiner