Manhunt in officer’s death ends
Tip leads to arrest of suspect as his mother faces charges of aiding him evade capture
The suspect in the death of a Nassau Bay police sergeant was arrested Thursday afternoon as authorities revealed that his mother and her boyfriend had allegedly helped him evade arrest the night of the officer’s killing.
After a two-day manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies, Tavores Dewayne Henderson is now expected to face a capital murder charge.
Harris County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Henderson at a home in the 4200 block of Heritage Trail near southeast Houston without incident two days after authorities said his actions led to the death of Sgt. Kaila Sullivan.
Henderson gave a full confession upon his arrest, a detective said, and deputies recovered a handgun at the home.
Sullivan, 43, died after being struck during a traffic stop in the 2000 block of San Sebastian Court about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. The 16-year veteran and another officer attempted to arrest Henderson, 21, who was wanted on a warrant related to a domestic violence case.
At a vigil Wednesday night at
Nassau Bay City Hall, Sullivan was remembered as “the rock” of a 14member police force. Her death marked the first time a Nassau Bay police officer had ever been killed in the line of duty. Friends and colleagues said she was a devoted mother, motorcycle enthusiast and an advocate for victims of domestic violence.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Henderson will be charged with capital murder in Sullivan’s death. Henderson, described as a part-time barber during a hearing late Thursday, was booked into Harris County Jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond on the capital murder charge.
Henderson’s mother, Tiffany Henderson, and her boyfriend, Geoffrey Wheeler, also played a role in his escape attempt and face charges of hindering apprehension, according to Ogg’s office. The couple took Henderson to a hotel near the scene the night of the death, and the mother later lied when confronted by investigators, officials said.
At a press conference Thursday, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said a tip delivered through the Crime Stoppers Houston hotline led to Henderson’s arrest.
“I want to thank the people of Harris County for rallying together once again to help us make this arrest,” Gonzalez said. “On behalf of the Harris County law enforcement family, I want to say thank you for the outpouring of support for those who put their lives on the line each and everyday to keep our communities safe.”
Gonzalez also offered additional details on the sequence of events that led to Sullivan’s death.
A Nassau Bay police officer Tuesday night stopped Henderson for speeding through an apartment complex in a red Jeep Wrangler, according to court reocrds. Henderson was believed to have been visiting a girlfriend in the neighborhood. When the officer realized Henderson had an active warrant for a domestic violence charge, the officer called for backup.
Sullivan responded to the call and spoke to Henderson after opening his passenger-side door, records say. The first officer then asked Henderson to step out of the vehicle. While being handcuffed, Henderson got away, jumped back in his car and took off, striking Sullivan , officials said.
The first officer tended to Sullivan’s injuries and alerted surrounding law enforcement agencies about the fleeing driver.
Gonzalez said his deputies immediately pursued Henderson.
The sheriff’s office offered different accounts about exactly where Sullivan was standing when she was struck by the car. A sheriff’s office spokesman said Sullivan jumped in the passenger side of Henderson’s vehicle to try and stop him. Gonzalez said he believed she was standing near the front of the car.
EMS rushed Sullivan to HCAHouston Clear Lake Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She would have marked 16 years with the Nassau Bay Police Department later this month.
Nassau Bay Police Chief Tim Cromie said Gonzalez and U.S. Marshal Gary Blankinship personally called to notify him of Henderson’s arrest.
“I want to thank Sheriff Gonzalez and the Harris County Sheriff ’s Department for taking over the lead in this investigation,” Cromie said. “That gave us the opportunity for our officers to decompress and regroup.”
News of Henderson’s arrest also reached Sullivan’s family. Her wife, Tracey, thanked the law enforcement agencies that arrested him in a Facebook post.
“I want to let everyone know, they have taken the man into custody that killed my wife!” Tracey Sullivan wrote. “Thank you law enforcement for everything that you do!”
The search for Henderson involved several law enforcement agencies, including the Harris County Constables, Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Marshals, Gonzalez said.
Prosecutor Sean Teare said Henderson’s mother and her boyfriend on the night of the killing drove him from a location near the scene of the crime to a hotel off Loop 610, where Henderson spent the night. Teare said they have surveillance footage from the hotel showing him getting dropped off.
Teare said Henderson’s mother went home that night and was immediately met by sheriff’s deputies when she arrived at her house. She initially told the deputies she did not know Henderson before admitting that he was her son and didn’t know where he was.
The surveillance footage obtained by the sheriff’s office showed that less than 30 minutes had passed between Henderson’s mother dropping him off at the hotel and making a statement to the police, Teare said.
“We still have a long timeline from (the moment of the killing) to the time we arrested (Henderson) today,” Teare said. “Anyone that helped him during that time is going to face the same charge.”
Henderson had several outstanding warrants prior to Thursday’s arrest. He was charged with stealing power tools valued over $2,500 from Home Depot in Galveston on July 11. He had an outstanding warrant for allegedly assaulting a woman with whom he had a dating relationship in November 2018, according to Harris County court documents.
Most recently, Henderson was charged Tuesday with assault of a family member, according to Harris County court documents. He was accused of assaulting a person with whom he had a dating relationship.
Tiffany Henderson also has two active cases in Harris County related to an incident earlier this year. She was accused of assaulting an elderly person on Oct. 2 and refusing to allow officers to handcuff her, according to court records.
Sullivan’s death is the latest among a spate of Houston-area law enforcement killings in recent months. Sullivan was killed three days after Houston Police Sgt. Christopher Brewster was shot and killed responding to a domestic violence call in Magnolia Park.
Police subsequently arrested Arturo Solis, 25, in Brewster’s death. He faces capital murder charges.
Harris County Sheriff ’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal was killed in September during a traffic stop. Robert Solis, 47, was charged in Dhaliwal’s death and also faces capital murder charges.
Ogg, the Harris County district attorney, noted that she had just left Brewster’s funeral before arriving at the press conference announcing Henderson’s arrest.
“None of us can remember a time in history where there’s been three cop killers in jail at one time,” Ogg said.