Four years to the day after Harris County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Darren Almendarez was gunned down while confronting suspected catalytic converter thieves, one of the men accused in his killing is finally heading to trial in Houston.
Almendarez, a 23-year veteran of the department who worked on the auto-theft task force, was shot after he interrupted what he believed was an in-progress catalytic converter theft targeting his own truck. The killing helped fuel a multiagency investigation and ultimately inspired a new state law aimed at cracking down on converter theft.
We remember and miss Darren. On the anniversary of his death, the long-awaited trial is set to begin for a man accused of killing him. https://x.com/i/status/2038981282554589560
— Ed Gonzalez (@sheriffed_hcso) March 31, 2026
Sheriff Marks the Anniversary as Court Moves Forward
Marking the solemn anniversary, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote on X that “We remember and miss Darren,” and noted that the long-delayed trial for one of the accused gunmen is finally set to begin. His message went up on March 31, the same date in 2022 when Almendarez was killed during what authorities describe as a catalytic converter theft in north Houston.
What Happened in the Parking Lot
Investigators say Almendarez and his wife were leaving a Joe V’s Smart Shop in north Houston when he spotted three men underneath a vehicle and went to confront them. Gunfire followed. The deputy was shot, rushed to a hospital and later died.
Local coverage at the time documented both the chaotic parking lot scene and the wave of memorials that followed. Those reports highlighted that Almendarez had spent more than two decades with HCSO and was serving in auto-theft investigations, a detail that made the suspected converter theft all the more bitter for colleagues.
Who’s Charged and the Court Calendar
Three men, identified as Joshua Stewart, Fredarius Clark and Fredrick Tardy, were charged with capital murder in the March 2022 shooting. Harris County court schedules place their trials on the 2026 docket, with separate, staggered settings for each defendant. FOX 26 reviewed the county calendar and reported the trial windows expected this year.
Legal Stakes as Proceedings Begin
The legal stakes are unusually high. Prosecutors at one point sought the death penalty for some of the defendants, then later filings dropped capital punishment as an option for at least one suspect, according to court reporting. The youngest defendant was 17 at the time of the shooting and has received different pretrial treatment, including a high bond earlier in the case. The Houston Chronicle has tracked many of those filings and rulings.
Legislation and the Wider Probe
Almendarez’s killing helped drive passage of the Deputy Darren Almendarez Act, S.B. 224, which increased penalties for catalytic converter theft in Texas. Investigators later connected the case to a broader converter theft ring that drew attention from both federal and local authorities.
The bill analysis and follow-up investigations, including national reporting on converter theft operations, show how this one deadly encounter in a grocery store parking lot rippled outward into policy and enforcement changes across the state. For details on the law itself, see the Texas Legislature analysis.
Jury selection and the opening of testimony in Harris County are expected to draw close attention from Almendarez’s family, his law-enforcement colleagues and a frustrated public that has watched converter theft spike in recent years. Court filings and local coverage will likely come fast once testimony starts, and we will continue to follow the case as it works its way through trial.
