HOUSTON — Two suspects have been taken into custody in the robbery-homicide at a Houston restaurant last weekend that killed an off-duty detective of the New Orleans Police Department and critically injured his friend, authorities announced Friday afternoon.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner and Mayor Sylvester Turner were joined by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg to announce the arrests following numerous tips that facilitated the homicide investigation.
Frederick Jackson, 19, and Anthony Jenkins, 21, were both arrested this week at separate locations, KHOU 11 reported. The men have been charged with murder and attempted murder, Mayor Turner said.
According to DA Ogg, a third unnamed person remains at large.
Police said the murder suspects are believed responsible for other Galleria-are robberies. Moreover, they were out on bond at the time of the violent crimes, which left Det. Everett Briscoe dead, and his friend Dyrin “DJ” Riculfy in critical condition.
“We’re sickened by this bold attack that left one beloved detective dead and his friend still fighting for his life,” Ogg said. “Our city’s shaken at how this could happen on a weekend afternoon at a restaurant in the heart of the tourist area. Details are brutal and they are heartbreaking.”
“Death is on the table — they will consider the death penalty in this case,” said Ogg.
The DA confirmed that Jenkins was out on a $40,000 bond for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon at the time of the robbery-homicide. Jackson was also out on bond for an aggravated robbery in 2020. That crime involved someone who was followed from the Galleria area and then robbed of items that exceeded $40,000 in value, Ogg said.
“As I keep saying, I am opposed, along with the mayor and police chief, to the repeated release of people on multiple bonds. There is no doubt that that’s part of what’s driving the crime rate that all of these members of law enforcement are working so hard to prevent.”
Det. Everett Briscoe (New Orleans Police Department)
Briscoe, 41, and his friends were part of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, a philanthropic group that puts on a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. Several members were in Houston for the weekend to visit other Zulu members, Law Officer reported.
They had just arrived in town when a few of them dropped off their bags at a hotel and walked across the street to Grotto to smoke cigars and have a few drinks, according to KHOU 13.
Within minutes, a gunman shot two of them during a robbery. Briscoe, a 13-year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department, was killed even after everyone complied with the armed bandits.
Briscoe’s friend, Riculty, 43, remains hospitalized in a coma, according to other club members.
