Prosecutors: Killer fired 15 shots at Texas deputy

The man accused of fatally shooting a Texas deputy sheriff execution-style at a Houston-area gas station was arraigned Monday on a capital murder charge that could bring the death penalty.

Also Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas flags be flown at half staff to honor Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, who was shot in the back of the head after exiting the station's convenience store Friday night.

"Texas honors our officers," Abbott added in a tweet announcing his order.

In court, District Attorney Devon Anderson told Judge Denise Collins that surveillance cameras at the gas station in suburban Cypress showed a bald, black male drive up in a red Ford pickup. The man ran up behind Goforth and shot him in the back of the head, then several more times even after Goforth fell, Anderson said. Fifteen shell casings were found near the body.

"He unloaded the entire weapon into Deputy Goforth," Anderson said. The truck was traced to Shannon J. Miles, and it was found at his home.

Miles, 30, was arrested the next day. Witnesses identified him as the shooter, Anderson said. Ballistics tests matched the shell casings found at the scene to a .40-caliber handgun owned by Miles, she said.

Miles' mother, however, told KPRC-TV that she and her son were shopping when the crime was committed.

Miles, dressed in yellow jail garb, handcuffed and shackled, said little at the hearing. Collins ordered him held without bond and appointed two lawyers to defend him.

Miles has a history of relatively minor run-ins with police but no apparent connection to Goforth, a 10-year veteran of the department. That led Anderson and Sheriff Ron Hickman  in recent days to link the shooting to a national backlash over several killings of unarmed black people by police officers. Goforth was white; Miles is black.

Goforth was married with two children ages 5 and 12. His wife, Kathleen, described him as a man "you wanted for a friend, colleague, and a neighbor." In a statement released to local media she said: "My husband was an incredibly intricate blend of toughness and gentility. He was loyal ... He was good."

After the hearing, Anderson expressed appreciation to the community for their support of Goforth and law enforcement. She referenced a walk to the shooting site held Sunday and a vigil Saturday. Each drew several hundred people.

"That is what Harris County is about," Anderson said. "This crime is not going to divide us. This crime is going to unite us."

A makeshift memorial with balloons and flowers now adorns the shooting site. Jess Orosco was among the walkers Sunday.

"We're standing for our community to let first responders know there are people that do care," Orosco told KHOU-TV.

"All lives matter," added walker Cheryl Scott. "It just happened to be in my back yard, so I'm going to do something about it. All these people are going to do something about it."

Contributing: KHOU-TV in Houston