Earlier today, one of our employees was held against her will by a man with a knife who apparently escaped from official custody. We are thankful and grateful that she was not physically harmed during this incident.                 

The general public should be on heightened alert that this man has yet to be apprehended, but we are confident that law enforcement will be able to find and apprehend the suspect.

Once he is arrested, we expect to prosecute this defendant and seek justice in this case.

—Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg reinvested more than $1 million from seized criminal assets into community crime prevention programs in 2023 – the second-largest annual reinvestment since taking office in 2017.

“These assets are seized from those who intend to destroy our communities – the drug and human traffickers, street racers and money launderers,” DA Ogg said. “By reinvesting these funds into community building and crime-prevention programs, we are disrupting the cycle of crime for profit and intervening in high-risk communities before crime takes hold.”

The HCDAO’s Asset Forfeiture Division handled approximately 1,200 cases in 2023 and obtained judgments awarding more than $4.8 million for law-enforcement purposes and crime-prevention programs.

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The Harris County District Attorney’s Office, along with the Houston Police Department, will be distributing free gun safes and locks on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Crime Stoppers Houston, 3001 Main St., Houston 77002, as part of an initiative to raise awareness on responsible gun ownership. The event will include presentations on the importance of safe firearm storage and a tutorial on how to use the gun safes and locks. Presentations will be held from 11 a.m. to noon and 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.

“With the holiday season in full swing, kids are home from school or visiting friends and family, and that means ensuring firearm safety is paramount,” Ogg said. “Amidst the festive season and celebratory visits, securing our firearms is crucial. We must ensure that our weapons are safely stored not just in our homes but anywhere our children may be, including cars.”

Ogg noted that locking up our firearms is a simple yet powerful step in keeping our community safe, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will do everything possible to raise awareness and end gun violence.

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Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg joined with Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and Houston Police Chief Troy Finner today to announce a joint effort to combat a traditional holiday uptick in injuries and fatalities involving pedestrians and bicyclists.

Houston has developed a reputation for being a dangerous place for pedestrians and bicyclists, a reputation that Ogg and her colleagues in law enforcement want to end. Since October alone, there have been more than 30 fatal crashes involving motor vehicles and pedestrians or cyclists.

New state laws allow motorists who kill or injure pedestrians or cyclists in a crosswalk to be charged with a state jail felony.

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Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced today that her office would grant a local group $269,000 to quadruple its staff of forensic sexual assault interviewers to ensure a less invasive and less intimidating experience for crime victims.

Ogg joined with experts in the field of interviewing sexual assault victims to explain the process of “adult forensic interviewing.” Forensic interviewing is a process in which highly trained experts meet with sexual assault victims to get the information necessary to identify and prosecute their attackers without adding to the fear and trauma inherent in a sexual assault. Adult forensic interviewers coordinate with law enforcement to interview victims in a safer, neutral and less intimidating environment than a police station or hospital interview room.

As a result, assault victims often share more information in greater detail than they might in a more aggressive law-enforcement interview.

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Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg joined with law-enforcement officials and families of murder victims Wednesday to acknowledge a new state law taking effect Friday prioritizing murder trials in Texas.

Ogg said she hoped the law, sponsored by state Sen. John Whitmire, would help reduce the backlog of murder cases that has climbed to more than 1,800 in recent years. But she warned that continued delays in testing evidence at area crime labs – specifically at the Houston Forensic Science Center – may counter that progress.

“We at the District Attorney’s Office are ready. Our friends in law enforcement are ready,” Ogg said. “Now we need the City of Houston to ensure that our evidence is ready.”

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A Houston jury on Wednesday found 23-year-old Antonio Armstrong Jr. guilty of capital murder for fatally shooting his parents as they slept in their bedroom in 2016, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced. Because he was convicted of capital murder, Armstrong was automatically sentenced to life in prison.

“Antonio Sr. and Dawn died because they were trying to be good parents. Because they wanted their children to do right, not to lie, to work, to be law-abiding contributing adults,” Ogg said. “And for that, they paid with their lives.”

Armstrong Jr. was 16 when he shot his parents as they slept in the master bedroom of their Bellaire-area home on July 29, 2016. He shot both in the head. The teenager had recently been expelled from school and was angry at his parents for disciplining him for misbehaving.

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District Attorney Kim Ogg thanked Crime Stoppers and members of two southwest Houston management districts Wednesday for joining forces to offer a $15,000 reward for information leading to the capture of fugitive human trafficker Thaddeus Allen.

Allen, 34, fled in April, just one day before a Harris County jury found him guilty of human trafficking and handed down a 75-year prison sentence for the habitual felon. Allen had been present for the previous five days of trial but absconded the day before closing arguments. He had been free on $200,000 bond.

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A Harris County grand jury on Thursday issued six no-bills related to the deaths of 10 spectators, two of whom were younger than 15, at the 2021 Astroworld concert, which means that no criminal charges will be filed in the incident, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“It is tragic that 10 innocent people were killed while trying to enjoy an evening of music and entertainment, something many of us do routinely and without a second thought to our safety. But a tragedy isn’t always a crime, and not every death is a homicide,” Ogg said. “This grand jury’s determination has no impact on the many civil lawsuits pending.”

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