A Houston man accused of killing his brother-in-law in 2022 is now back in Harris County to face a murder charge, after authorities say he was tracked down in Mexico and returned to Texas. The move effectively caps a multi-year homicide investigation into a northeast Houston shooting where deputies found a man shot inside his vehicle. Local officials say the suspect has been booked into the Harris County Jail as prosecutors prepare the case.
Arrest and transfer
According to Click2Houston, Harris County deputies say Samuel Ibarra-Cleto was arrested in Mexico in September 2025 and later extradited to the United States. He was then booked into the Harris County Jail on Wednesday. The outlet reports that the Harris County Sheriff’s Office announced the custody transfer in a social media update.
The 2022 shooting
The deadly shooting unfolded on Feb. 7, 2022, in the 5800 block of Elberta Street near Hirsch and East Mount Houston Road, where deputies found the victim shot inside his vehicle and later pronounced him dead at the scene, according to ABC13 Houston. Investigators initially identified a relative as the suspect and said he took off from the area before deputies arrived.
What officials and records show
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez highlighted the arrest in a social media post, and court records cited by local reporters say Ibarra-Cleto and the victim had been arguing for weeks leading up to the shooting. As detailed by FOX 26 Houston, those records allege Ibarra-Cleto told his girlfriend the day before the killing that the victim had gone to his truck with a gun, that he was “tired” of the man, and that he was “going to go settle this.” The filings state he retrieved a gun from the couple’s home, witnesses then heard gunfire, and he fled the scene. No bond has been set.
