Man accused in 2018 slaying is caught in alleged Houston-area kidnapping
For more than a year, Anna Nieman knew who was charged with killing her son.
She just didn’t know where he was hiding.
“My family and my grandchildren — all of them — have been scared to death,” she said.
Homero Solis, 34, was believed to have fled to Mexico shortly after he was accused of killing her son, John Meyers, and wounding his friend on April 2, 2018, inside the slain man’s Galena Park home, court documents show. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office filed charges later that month.
Deputies finally caught up to Solis last Thursday when he was accused of forcing a man to sell drugs at gunpoint in the Houston area, deputies said.
Solis is in Harris County Jail on a charge of aggravated kidnapping, in addition to the murder and aggravated assault charges stemming from the 2018 shooting. His bail was set at a total of $150,000 for all three charges, and prosecutors this week filed a motion to raise the bail.
Nieman, an Ohio truck driver, on Wednesday told the Houston Chronicle it is a relief knowing he’s behind bars after all those months. But she still worries about her family in Houston.
“The fact that he’s in jail, at least I know for right now my family is safe,” she said in a telephone interview. “I’m scared that if he gets out…the first thing he would do is try to get rid of witnesses.”
Solis’ court-appointed attorney, Victoria Erfesoglou, recently became his lawyer and hasn’t had time to review all the details. However, she offered a brief comment.
“At this time, I know that a) he is a U.S. Citizen, b) I have no indication that he is alleged to have violated any kind of court order or condition, and c) he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty by the government,” she said in an email.
Aside from witnesses, investigators with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office say they have surveillance video of a man believed to be Solis walking into Meyers’ home just before the shooting. In the video, the man was seen running from the home after about 20 minutes inside, police said.
According to Nieman, Solis and Meyers met each other while trying to coordinate construction work in Houston.
Inside the murder scene, Solis began talking to Meyers about a “past incident” between the two men, later described as an argument about who could win a fight between the pair, according to the arrest affidavit. Meyers’ friend was in the home at the time.
Meyers eventually offered Solis a cigarette as they continued with small talk. Once Solis said he was going to leave, he pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds at both men, the affidavit said.
The other case that led to Solis’ capture occurred a week ago. Solis was accused on Aug. 15 of kidnapping a man who bought drugs from him the previous day. The victim was able to call the mother of his children, who then called the sheriff ’s office.
When deputies caught up to Solis at an unspecified location on Uvalde Road, they allegedly found him with a large clear bag of marijuana, a clear container of crystal meth and a stolen .380 pistol in the car.
“I’m still trying to catch my breath,” Nieman said of the arrest. “This is something we’ve been wishing for a very long time — for him to answer for what he’s done.”
Nieman said Meyers had three children with his fiancé at the time. He also had at least five other children living out of state from previous relationships, she said.
She said Meyers grew up as a construction worker while living primarily in coastal towns around the country with his father, who was in the Navy.
Over time, he gravitated toward rebuilding homes that were destroyed from hurricanes. In Houston, where he had been living for about six years before his death, he wanted to rebuild homes ravaged by Harvey.
He had a kind heart, which made him capable of sacrificing business interests, she said.
“He wanted to do a lot more volunteer work than pay-the-bills work,” she said.
She said his absence especially has been apparent during holidays like Mother’s Day and Fourth of July, which he always celebrated eagerly with his kids.
“He was just a normal human being, but no human being should have their life taken just because someone’s ego got bruised,” she said.