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Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a law bearing the name of a Harris County sheriff’s deputy who was killed last year while protecting his wife from would-be catalytic converter thieves.
Almendarez and Flor Zarzoza were grocery shopping for groceries for a birthday cookout for Almendarez’s sister on March 31, 2022, when the off-duty law enforcement official noticed a few men attempting to steal a catalytic converter from his pickup truck in the parking lot of the Joe V's Smart Shop in the 2900 block of FM 1960 at Aldine Westfield in north Houston.
He confronted the suspects, but was shot to death.
According to a report from Houston FOX affiliate KRIV, the measure — Senate Bill (SB) 224, or the Deputy Darren Almendarez Act — will impose stricter penalties on individuals who commit catalytic converter theft, with some of it already in effect and other parts to be enacted at the beginning of next month.
Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that SB 224 also authorizes prosecutors to classify the offense as organized crime.
Per KHOU, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez remembered Almendarez as someone who overcame great odds and devoted his life to serving the community.
“He's just a great guy," Gonzales said in the report. "He's had a stellar career for 23 years."
Assigned to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office's (HCSO) auto theft division before he died, the 51-year-old Almendarez used to joke his inability to speak Spanish made him a fraud in Texas' largest county.
His purported last words to his spouse were, "I love you, babe ... I can't breathe."
KHOU reported that the law, which was written by State Sen. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston), includes punishments that hinge on the value of the property stolen.
Losses between $100 and $2,500 are deemed misdemeanors, losses of over $2,500 and no more than $35,000 are state jail felonies and losses of more than $30,000 are either a third-degree, second-degree or first-degree felony.