A 17-year-old has been charged with capital murder after a Harris County man was shot and killed while chasing down the people who had just robbed him at gunpoint. Victor Thomas Gonzalez, 34, was shot at 660 John Albers Road after arranging to sell property to the people who allegedly turned on him.
According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, Gonzalez had met with the suspects to sell property when they allegedly robbed him at gunpoint on September 13. As HCSOTexas
detailed in an arrest update, the suspects then fled in a vehicle with Gonzalez following behind them. Gonzalez was on the phone with an emergency dispatcher at the time, relaying the suspects' direction of travel, when he told the dispatcher he had been shot. The incident was at 660 John Albers Road.
Homicide detectives have charged 17-year-old Anthony Castro, born October 25, 2008, with capital murder in connection with Gonzalez's death, per the same arrest update. Castro was taken into custody by the Sheriff's Office Violent Crime Apprehension Team and its law enforcement partners and has since been booked into the Harris County Jail. VCAT was among the law enforcement entities involved in the arrest.
Why a 17-Year-Old Faces Adult Charges
Texas sets the age of adult criminal responsibility at 17, according to the Texas District & County Attorneys Association. The capital murder charge stems from Texas Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2), which classifies a homicide as capital murder when a person intentionally causes death while committing or attempting to commit robbery, per FindLaw.
Any sentence would follow a conviction.
Robbery Charge Could Shape Defense Strategy
In Texas capital murder cases, defense strategy can center on challenging the underlying felony element that elevates the charge. According to Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys PLLC, removing the robbery element from the case would reduce the charge to murder, which carries a different sentencing range.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office update indicated that suspects were allegedly involved in robbing Gonzalez at gunpoint before he was killed, leaving open whether additional accomplices have since been identified or charged. Details about the specific property Gonzalez was attempting to sell, the platform used to arrange the meeting, and Castro's initial court appearance have not yet been made public.
A Warning Long Issued About Online Sales Meet-Ups
The case underscores a safety concern local law enforcement has flagged for years around private, peer-to-peer sales. The Harris County Sheriff's Office operates a safe-exchange location at the District 4 substation at 16715 Clay Road; KHOU described the program as a pilot rather than an established network of zones.
KHOU has reported on robbery risks during person-to-person exchanges, according to reporting from KHOU. Gonzalez followed the vehicle while on the phone with an emergency dispatcher.
Castro faces a capital murder charge in connection with Gonzalez's death.
