Man killed Mesquite officer, shot himself after wife's confrontation over infidelity
MESQUITE, Texas - A jealous wife's confrontation with her cheating husband and his mistress was the disturbance call a Mesquite officer responded to when he was murdered.
The mug shot of the capital murder suspect still has not been released because he remains hospitalized with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The new details about the domestic disturbance and murder of the Mesquite sergeant last Friday outside a grocery store were detailed in new police documents first released on Tuesday.
According to court documents, police interviews with the suspected shooter’s daughter and his mistress detail what happened before the officer responded to the disturbance call. Police say the gunman's wife has been accusing him of cheating for months.
Man killed Mesquite officer, shot himself after wife's confrontation over infidelity
According to the police incident report, Sgt. Richard Houston had just arrived to investigate the disturbance when he was repeatedly shot by Jamie Jaramillo last Friday in the parking lot of an Albertson’s on South Belt Line Road.
Sgt. Richard Houston had just arrived to investigate the disturbance when he was repeatedly shot by Jamie Jaramillo last Friday in the parking lot of an Albertsons on South Belt Line Road, according to the police incident report.
Jaramillo's wife and daughter were confronting him and his alleged mistress who called 911. Police say Jaramillo pulled a gun and, for unknown reasons, shot Houston moments after the uniformed police officer arrived about 1:40 p.m. Friday.
"We have no idea why he was killed," said Mesquite Police Officer Jolyn Lopez.
RELATED: Suspect charged with capital murder of Mesquite police officer
According to the report, Jaramillo then shot himself in the head after shooting Houston. Jaramillo survived but is still hospitalized with serious injuries.
After Jaramillo fell to the ground, his wife, Juventina Vasquez Bences, took his gun and charged at the mistress in the car and beat the window with it.
During police interviews, Jaramillo’s girlfriend says Vazquez Bences banged the gun on her driver’s side window multiple times yelling, "Get out! I’m going to kill you! It’s all your fault! Your son is going to pay!"
That is where her aggravated assault charge comes from.
Jaramillo’s girlfriend told investigators she hopped out of Jaramillo’s truck and into her own vehicle but "couldn’t leave because Vazquez Bences blocked her in."
According to police, Jaramillo’s mistress called 911 several times as Vazquez Bences and her daughter were "recording her, yelling at her, and keying her car."
Jaramillo’s daughter was also interviewed and let go. She also confirmed to police her mother pointed a gun at her father’s mistress.
The initial call to officers was over the two women fighting. Police say Houston had no idea there might be a man at the scene in the parking lot — much less one with a gun.
"This is just a devastating loss for all of us, and we are trying to get to the bottom of it," Lopez said.
Three vehicles were taken by a wrecker from the scene: a red pickup, a white truck and a small SUV.
Vasquez Bences has a $100,000 bond on the aggravated assault deadly weapon charge and an immigration hold. She remains in jail.
Court records also say Officer Houston’s body camera and dashcam were still rolling after he got shot. It also showed the suspected shooter’s wife storming towards his mistress with a gun, matching witness testimonies.
Officer Houston’s funeral service is set for this Thursday at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall at noon.
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