ICE hold place on murder, cock-fighting suspects (San Antonio Express-News)

ICE hold place on murder, cock-fighting suspects
By Catherine Dominguez, cdominguez@hcnonline.com
Updated 9:55 pm, Saturday, February 11, 2017

 The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office arrested an 18-year-old man and placed him on an Immigration and Customers Enforcement hold due to a murder charge stemming from the death of a Harris County man.

Bryan Rafael Rodriguez-Valtierra was booked into the Montgomery County Jail without bond. He is charged with the Feb. 7 murder of 49-year-old Pete Figueroa Jr. Rodriguez-Valtierra's immigration status has been determined to be "illegal," according to the MCSO. Pursuant to federal law and guidance from the State of Texas, ICE was contacted regarding his status and requested that he be held pending federal involvement.

The four individuals arrested for cock-fighting Feb. 5, 2017, at 27300 Royal Coach in Conroe, also are on an ICE "hold" due to their "illegal" status, the MCSO stated.

Sheriff Rand Henderson and members of his staff will meet with ICE officials Feb. 23 to discuss the agency's official entry into the 287(g) Program. It is one of ICE's top partnership initiatives, allows a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement. The state or local entity receives delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions.

Henderson has publicly supported the detainer of illegal immigrants who have committed crime.

Regarding the murder arrest, around 12:21 a.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to Captain D's Restaurant, located at 23811 Interstate 69 in Porter regarding a report of a suspicious person.

MCSO Communications received a 911 call from a caller who reported he saw a vehicle driving without a front tire, north on the I-69 frontage road near North Park Drive, pull into the back parking lot of the Captain D's Restaurant. Wanting to offer help, the caller said he stopped to check on the driver and offer his assistance. The driver, who was later identified as Rodriguez-Valtierra, allegedly asked the caller to drop him off at the intersection of FM 1314 and Timberland Drive.

The caller gave Rodriguez-Valtierra a ride, but reported he was acting strange during the trip. Out of concern, the caller decided to contact MCSO to make a report.

Once on scene, deputies found a deceased male in the front passenger seat of the vehicle in question. At that time, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Detectives, Crime Scene Investigators, representatives from the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Rangers were called to the scene. The victim was identified as Figueroa Jr, of Harris County.

On Friday investigators secured a murder warrant for the arrest of Rodriguez-Valtierra and, at 7:45 p.m., Rodriguez-Valtierra was arrested at 2801 N. Main St. in Liberty with the assistance of the Texas Rangers, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office S.W.A.T, and the Gulf Coast Violent Offender Task Force. Rodriguez-Valtierra was transported to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Jail Division where he was booked for murder.

Anyone with additional information regarding the crime, or the events leading up to it, is asked to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at 936-760-5800 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-392-STOP (7867).