‘Possible serial killer’ arrested after Houston killings, robberies

The victims were attacked in mattress stores, houses and a city bus. The suspect stole their cars, or knocked on random doors, pretending to be looking for an acquaintance when he was really in search of people to assault and rob, the authorities in Houston said.

For the past week, law enforcement officials in Harris County and the Houston area have warned residents not to open their doors to strangers, saying a murderer — possibly a serial killer — was on the loose.

On Tuesday morning, after a 15-minute car chase in which he was driving a victim’s vehicle, Jose Gilberto Rodriguez, 46, was arrested as the suspect in the string of three killings and two violent robberies.

Mr. Rodriguez, a registered sex offender who was on parole, had cut his ankle monitor before he allegedly embarked on the spree that started on July 9 in the county’s northwestern neighborhoods, the authorities said.

“It was possible he was looking to score his next victim,” the Harris County sheriff, Ed Gonzalez, said in a news conference.

“You never know what’s in their mind,” Sheriff Gonzalez said.

The authorities have not yet announced formal charges, aside from a probation violation, and Sheriff Gonzalez said the motive in the killings was not yet clear.

The Houston Police Department and the sheriff’s department had been warning residents of Harris County, the largest in Texas, for nearly a week to take precautions.

On July 9, Mr. Rodriguez was suspected of carrying out a home invasion robbery in the Houston area.

The first murder was on Friday, the sheriff’s department said. Family members of the victim, Pamela Johnson, 62, contacted the authorities because they could not reach her for three days.

Her body was found inside her Cypress home, outside of Houston, the sheriff’s department said in an earlier news release. Her maroon Chrysler was stolen.

On Saturday, Ms. Johnson’s vehicle was located at the parking lot of the Willowbrook Mall. Mr. Rodriguez was identified leaving the vehicle, according to surveillance video released by the police.

The same day, in a nearby mattress store, an employee was found fatally shot, Chief Art Acevedo of the Houston Police Department said. The store manager found the body of Allie Barrow between two mattresses, ABC News reported.

On Monday, another murder victim was found in a mattress store in Houston, and a gray Nissan Sentra was taken from the location. The same day, a bus driver was assaulted and robbed, Chief Acevedo said.

Later on Monday, the authorities suggested they were closing in on the suspect. Chief Acevedo and Sheriff Gonzalez took turns holding up a photograph of Mr. Rodriguez at a news conference in which they first identified him as a person of interest.

Although robbery with gang affiliations was a possible motive, Sheriff Gonzalez said the suspect was also being considered a “possible serial killer.”

Chief Acevedo described Mr. Rodriguez’s array of tattoos, and his propensity to wear a baseball cap and to change stolen cars often, enabling him to evade detection.

“If he is hearing my voice? We are coming for you,” Chief Acevedo said.