Police: Suspected gang member shot dead by officers acted alone

Tattoos appear to confirm man’s affiliation with criminal group

A suspected gang member fatally shot after wounding two police officers in southwest Houston was apparently acting alone, not with an accomplice as authorities originally thought, Houston police said Wednesday.

Earl Donnell Riley, 25, a burglary suspect caught hiding in a backyard shed, was shot by a police sergeant after firing at Houston Police officers Ronny Cortez and Jose Muñoz on Feb. 28.

A recently released autopsy report describes tattoos that confirm Riley’s affiliation with the 52 Hoover Crips gang, a criminal group known for its blue bandannas and specialized tattoos that operates in northeast, south and east Houston.

Among the many tattoos on Riley’s body were “52” and “HOOVA.” Other tattoos included the words “GREED,” “Trust No B **** ,” “Most Hated,” “Only God Can Judge Me” and logos for the Texans and Rockets sports teams, according to the autopsy report released recently by the Harris County medical examiner’s office.

Police had linked Riley to the gang at the time.

The officers were searching for two burglary suspects when a resident alerted them that her shed door was ajar. They found Riley inside.

A Houston police spokesman said Wednesday that detectives believe Riley acted alone when he confronted the police officers, even though he may have had an accomplice for the burglaries.

“Investigators ran as many leads as possible to identify a second individual and have yet to do so,” spokesman John Cannon said. “They believe that the only individual who had an exchange with the officers was the deceased suspect.”

The autopsy report also states that Riley had six gunshot wounds: three to his head, two to his chest and one to his right hip area.

He also had scrapes and bruises, as well as a pair of handcuffs dangling from his right wrist.

Riley’s blood contained high concentrations of marijuana-related substances, which suggests he likely used the drug in the hours before his death.

The 52 Hoover Crips gang — also known as Five-Deuce Hoova — was implicated over the past three years in a series of smash-and-grabs to steal ATM machines, a robbery of a Pasadena credit union and the rape of a 67-yearold woman.

Houston police said Riley shot the two officers when they confronted him on Sterlingame Street, leading to an hourslong lockdown of an entire neighborhood near Missouri City.

Muñoz suffered a gunshot wound to the foot but was able to leave the hospital the next day. Cortez was severely wounded with a bullet lodged near his spine. He has been undergoing rehabilitation in a local hospital.