Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a 26-year-old Colorado arrested May 29 after an off-duty police officer and a Citibus security guard reportedly foiled his attempt to carjack at knifepoint a woman who was parked between the Lubbock County Courthouse and the Mahon Federal Building.
Isaiah Joshua Lee Houston of Colorado Springs walked into a federal courtroom with the right pant leg of his orange Lubbock County Detention Center uniform hiked up to reveal the quarter-sized wound just above his knee.
He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Amanda Burch for an initial appearance after federal prosecutors filed a complaint charging him with counts of carjacking and attempted carjacking.
Carjacking carries a punishment of up to 15 years in federal prison.
Initial-appearance hearings are formal proceedings during which a defendant is informed of the charge against him.
During the hearing the final case on the courts unusually lengthy docket, Burch also appointed an attorney from the Criminal Justice Act panel for Houston, who repeatedly tried to interrupt the judge to her growing frustration.
However, Houston was adamant to be heard and Burch gave him time at the end of the proceeding, warning him that any statement he made could be used against him later on.
“I recommend you do not take your turn (to speak),” she told Houston, instead advising him to speak with an attorney first.
However, Houston began laying out his grievances, complaining that he had not been given his rights.
He said he was not informed of his Miranda rights at the time of his arrest nor was he afforded a phone call.
Police typically inform people of their Miranda rights before a custodial interview. Court documents do not indicate that Houston was interviewed by police during the investigation.
The right to a phone call once arrested is not guaranteed under the constitution, however, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards states inmates are permitted to make at least two completed phone calls immediately after booking but no later than four hours after arriving at a jail.
Houston also complained about the medical care he has received after he was arrested.
“I was shot and brought here,” he said. “My rights have been taken advantage of.”
At the end of Houston’s statement, Burch advised him to relay those issues to the attorney who will be assigned to his case.
Complaint details as part of FBI investigation
His federal charge stems from an FBI investigation that began after Lubbock police received reports of a shooting near the Citibus Downtown station.
At the scene, an FBI agent saw multiple Lubbock police officers treating a man suffering from a gunshot wound to his right leg.
The injured man, later identified as Houston, was believed to be the knife-wielding suspect who pulled out a woman holding a newborn child from an SUV parked in the 800 block of Broadway.
Multiple witnesses who were in the nearby federal building told the FBI agent that they heard a woman screaming just north of the building and looked outside to see a man with dreadlocks running from security guards and police in front of the Lubbock County Courthouse.
The agent found video from the federal building and the Lubbock County courthouse that captured the .
The video showed a man, believed to be Houston, first approach a box truck stopped northbound at a red light at the intersection of Buddy Holly Avenue and Broadway.
Houston could reportedly be seen trying to open the box truck’s driver’s side door.
However, the driver pushed Houston away from the vehicle and close the door.
Houston could reportedly be seen running northwest to a black SUV parked westbound on Broadway Street between the county courthouse and the federal building.
The video appeared to depict Houston pulling out a knife as he approached the SUV. Then, Houston could reportedly be seen opening the driver’s side door and pulling out a woman in a red shirt, who was holding a newborn baby.
The woman reportedly told the agent she was startled by Houston and complied with his demands.
Meanwhile, a nearby security guard and an off-duty Lubbock police officer ran toward the commotion and Houston could reportedly be seen exiting the SUV and run away as the officer and security guard chased after him.
During the chase, Houston could reportedly be seen on video jumping on the bed of a pickup truck traveling southbound in the 1100 block of Buddy Holly Avenue next to the downtown bus station.
However, a Citibus security guard at the station, saw Houston still holding the knife and shot at him twice, hitting him once in the leg.
Lubbock police officials said Houston posed a threat to the LPD officer, the woman and the security guard at the time of the shooting.
Houston continued to run to the bus station where he tried to hide his knife in the ventilation grate of a parked bus.
He was ultimately apprehended. A pat-down search yielded a vape cartridge that investigators believe contained 8 grams of THC oil.
An inventory search of his backpack also yielded about .04 ounces of suspected marijuana contained in a a small tray with a magnetic cover.
He was arrested and taken to University Medical Center for treatment and later booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on multiple state charges including aggravated robbery, possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana and possession of 4 to 400 grams of penalty grade 2 controlled substance.
Houston is set to return before Burch on June 15 for a preliminary hearing, during which prosecutors will have to establish probable cause to formally charge him.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Federal charges filed against downtown Lubbock carjacking suspect
Reporting by Gabriel Monte, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gabriel Monte, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | USA TODAY Network
