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Officer of the Month
December 2005

Honoring Assistant United States Attorney Shelley J. Hicks

Left to right - Susan Resnick, Shelley J. Hicks and Mr. Hart

Shelley Hicks is an Assistant U.S. Attorney who has been with the justice department for 11 years and assigned in Houston for four years. She is a native of Billings, Montana and a graduate of the University of Montana Law School. She has two daughters who are 10 and 11. Her husband is a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Shelley Hicks prosecuted the following case:

Local Security Company Convicted of 
Unlawful Arming of Illegal Aliens
Click to view Press Release.

Officer of the Month
November 2005

Honoring Houston Police Officer Keith E. Roy

Left to right - Supervising Captain Mark R. Fougerousse,
Houston Police Officer Keith E. Roy and Mr. Hart

Officer Keith Roy is a twenty-eight year veteran who has continuously served the department and the citizens of Houston with outstanding dedication. Even after this many years of service, Officer Roy still exhibits an enthusiasm for his profession. His conscientious and hard-working nature led him to an active year of service during 2004. 

In June 2004, Officer Roy recognized a Homicide investigator in plain clothes and quickly responded to request for assistance. As a result of Officer Roy’s alertness, a suspect was arrested for the shooting of a fellow Houston Police officer.

In October of 2004, Officer Roy was on patrol when he saw two men fighting in a parking lot. As the officer pulled into the parking lot, the one man stabbed the other in the chest. Officer Roy took immediate action and was able to disarm the suspect without incident. The victim, however, did not survive his wound.

In November of 2004, a citizen stopped Officer Roy and led him to a residence where a car was burning in the driveway. The vehicle was engulfed in flames and exploded. Having called for assistance, Officer Roy and the other officer entered the residence and safety helped an elderly woman with a walker escape before the fire damaged the house.

On December 30, 2004, Officer Roy noted the details from a general broadcast of a stolen vehicle taken in an aggravated robbery. He soon located the vehicle with the dangerous suspects still inside. Officer Roy solicited the assistance of other officers in the arrest of the three suspects.

Officer Roy has developed a keen sense of locating on-going crime patterns and criminals in his patrol area. His ability to study, observe and pursue has truly aided in the apprehension and arrest of many criminals during his career.

Officer of the Month
October 2005

Honoring Houston Police Officer Alberto Garcia

Left to right - Mr. Hart,  Houston Police Officer Alberto Garcia
and Supervising Captain Richard Gerstner

A series of aggravated robberies of Dollar Stores and Walgreen’s Pharmacies began in late September of 2004. Of the 28 cases in Houston and five in Harris County, there were various vehicle descriptions associated with the suspect. Six of the cases involved an older model gray or gold Nissan Maxima or Altima with no license plate information. 

Officer Alberto Garcia of the North Division requested information regarding these robberies including copies of the surveillance photos of the suspect in two of the cases. He then proceeded to check motels along Hempstead Highway which were closest to the most recent robberies. At the second motel, he saw an older model gray Nissan Maxima parked in front of one of the rooms. Officer Garcia checked the license plate and learned that it was registered to a woman in Houston and that she had traffic warrants.

He went to the motel office and asked the manager about the guest. Officer Garcia learned that it was a male who had checked in, however, the manager did not think the guest looked like the suspect in the Crime Stoppers photograph. The officer had the motel manager knock on the door. When the man answered, Officer Garcia saw that he was the same individual pictured as the suspect. The suspect subsequently confessed to the robberies.

Officer of the Month
August 2005

Honoring Houston Police Officer
Heidi J. Ruiz

Left to right - Supervising Captain J. P. Mokwa,
Officer Heidi J. Ruiz, and Mr. Hart

July 20, 2005 -- The actions of a Houston Police Juvenile Division investigator, Heidi Ruiz, are being credited in the arrest and charges filed against a suspect wanted in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 12-year-old boy on June 4. The suspect, identified as Jose Miguel Rodriguez (H/m, DOB 2-12-71), is in custody and has confessed to his role in the crime. Rodriguez is charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a child in the 338th State District Court and is being held without bond. 

HPD Juvenile Division Lieutenant W.C. Staney of the Sex Crimes Unit reported:

While off duty and in her personal vehicle with her husband and children on Monday (July 18), Officer Heidi Ruiz of the Sex Crimes Unit saw a customized white van driving on Sabo Road at Fuqua. Officer Ruiz further observed that the driver matched surveillance photos of the suspect wanted in the June 4 incident. Following at a safe distance, Officer Ruiz called Lt. Staney with the vehicle information. The information was relayed to a dispatcher who coordinated a response with HPD helicopter and patrol officers. Patrol units conducted a felony traffic stop about 6 p.m. in the 5200 block of Canal and arrested the driver of the van. The van was towed to HPD custody and the suspect's wife and children were transported to the Juvenile Sex Crimes office as material witnesses. Once there, investigators obtained a statement from the suspect's wife in which she implicated her husband in the June 4 incident and led investigators to recover a bracelet taken from the victim in this case. The suspect confessed and investigators are now trying to determine if he has been involved in other offenses.

The boy and his eight-year-old cousin were leaving the Dollar General Store about 3:25 p.m. when they met the suspect in the parking lot. The suspect told the boys he could not speak English and needed someone to order food for him at the McDonald's restaurant across the street at 8320 Broadway. The children agreed to go with the suspect and got into his van. The suspect gave the younger boy money and sent him into the restaurant to order the food. He then drove away with the 12-year-old in his vehicle. The suspect drove to a secluded area, had the victim disrobe, and then forcibly sexually assaulted him. After the assault, the suspect dropped off the victim at a restaurant on Monroe at the Gulf Freeway. The victim then started walking and got a ride back to his home from a Good Samaritan. The younger boy, after discovering the van and his cousin missing from the parking lot, walked home and told his parents what had happened. The parents called police.

(The above was published in the Houston Chronicle.)

Officer Ruiz was also honored in this section earlier this year in March. Click to view.

Officer of the Month
July 2005

Honoring Houston
Deputy Larry Smith
Harris County Sheriff's Department

Left to right - Supervising Captain  Paul Cordova,
Deputy Larry Smith, and Mr. Hart

In 2004 Deputy Larry Smith filed 47 criminal charges and made 2,208 traffic stops that resulted in 1,478 code violations near elementary and middle schools. Additionally, in 2004 Deputy Smith responded to 3,808 police calls for assistance. Deputy Larry Smith's devotion to duty and dedication to the highest standards in law enforcement are a credit to the community he serves and to the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

Officer of the Month
June 2005

Honoring Houston Police Officer
David A. Kamyk

Left to right - Supervising Captain  Mary Lentschke,
Officer David A. Kamyk, and Mr. Hart

On August 22, 2004, Officer David Kamyk was on patrol when he saw a stranded motorist at the 10500 block of the East Loop. While he was offering assistance, he heard a faint cry for help from the wooded area by the freeway. He quickly called for back up for the safety of the stranded motorist. As soon as back up arrived he searched for the source of the cry.

When he entered the wooded area near the freeway, Officer Kamyk saw a vehicle overturned with the driver trapped inside. Then he saw a woman with severe head trauma, who had been a passenger in the overturned vehicle, on the ground near the vehicle. Officer Kamyk called for emergency medical personnel and moved the woman to a safe area. He next freed the driver of the overturned vehicle from his car. Paramedics arrived and transported both victims to the hospital. 

Medical personnel later reported that Officer Kamyk's action were responsible for saving the woman's life. His alertness, initiative, and positive action in the midst of high traffic noises and distractions are consistent with the highest performance standards of the City of Houston Police Department.

Officer of the Month
April 2005

Honoring Houston Police Officer
Gregory P. Countie

Left to right - Supervising Captain Arnie Anderson,
Officer Gregory P. Countie, and Mr. Hart

On March 7, 2005, a dangerous suspect burglarized an apartment in the 10,100 block of Windmill Lakes Drive. Upon his escape, he was seen by maintenance personnel and was followed to an adjacent apartment complex. The maintenance personnel informed a man at the second complex who attempted to detain the suspect. The suspect pulled out a weapon and shot the man in the leg before fleeing through a vacant field into an industrial park. There, the suspect approached another man seated in his vehicle. The suspect demanded his vehicle and shot the man when he refused to comply. The wounded man managed to drive away from the scene to get help. Meanwhile, the suspect continued on foot to the intersection of Almeda-Genoa and Clarewood where he approached yet another vehicle waiting at a traffic light. The driver refused to give up his vehicle by taking the keys and escape on foot.

Officer Countie, while on patrol, heard a description of the suspect and proceeded to the 8900 block of Almeda-Genoa. The officer saw the suspect and pursued him to a driveway located in the 9600 block of Radio Road. There, Officer Countie saw the suspect pointing a weapon at the homeowner who was sitting in his vehicle. The officer attempted to talk with the suspect and dissuade him of his intent to steal yet another vehicle or hurt another person. However, the suspect responded that he was going to shoot his victim. Officer Countie ordered that he lay down his weapon and took a defensive position behind his patrol car. The suspect then discharged his weapon grazing the side of the man’s head. The officer stopped the suspect from further action by delivering a fatal shot.

Officer Countie displayed courage in a deadly situation involving the safety of citizens. By his actions, he prevented further injuries or perhaps a fatality.

Officer of the Month
March 2005

Honoring Houston Police Officer
Heidi J. Ruiz

Left to right - Supervising Lieutenant William C. Staney,
Officer Heidi J. Ruiz, and Mr. Hart

Officer Heidi Ruiz of the Juvenile Division has performed outstanding investigations into sexual assault cases against children.  In 2001, she was assigned to a case where a nine-year-old victim was sexually assaulted by a known professional rapper.  Officer Ruiz relentlessly pursued the facts and discovered seven additional victims.  One victim in San Antonio, who failed to disclose any sexual abuse after being interviewed by the District Attorney’s Office, revealed details of the offense to Officer Ruiz.  Although she could have limited her investigation to her assigned case, Officer Ruiz went beyond to build a larger case against the perpetrator and his repeated pattern of assault.

On July 25, 2004, Officer Ruiz was assigned an Aggravated Kidnapping/Aggravated Sexual Assault case of an eleven-year-old girl.  The child and her older cousin were walking in the 3800 block of Brookfield when a man in a pickup truck drove up along side them.  The man got out of the vehicle and chased the girls a short distance before taking hold of the younger child.  He brought her back to the truck and drove to a motel.  After violently abusing her, the suspect released the girl near Almeda Genoa Road.  Officer Ruiz interviewed the traumatized victim and learned that the child did not know where the motel was located, but admitted that she might recognize it if she saw it again.  Officer Ruiz canvassed the area for the motel based upon the child’s statement.  She then contacted the HPD Forensic Artist to develop a composite sketch of the suspect that was distributed to Crime Stoppers as a wanted person bulletin.  Employing every available investigative tool, Officer Ruiz followed each lead, spending many hours on the case.  Within two weeks of the incident, Officer Ruiz had received information leading to the identification and eventual apprehension of the suspect.