Houston police officers shot and killed a man they say pointed a shotgun outside a northside home Saturday, a man they suspect killed his estranged wife earlier in the day.
Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon said the suspect — identified by family members as 47-year-old Lonnie Charles Punch — gave police no option when he leveled a shotgun at officers from his car in a driveway in the 1300 block of Charnwood.
“They took cover behind their vehicles,” Cannon said. “And as soon as he reached into the back seat and pulled out the shotgun, that’s when they moved in a little closer and fired at him to save their own lives and their partners’ lives.”
Police think Punch was connected to the homicide of his estranged wife, 47-year-old Yolonda Punch, at 12:10 a.m. Saturday in the 600 block of West Donovan on the southeast side.
Court records show the couple married in 1984.
Around 9 a.m., police spotted a man driving a black SUV that matched the description of the vehicle seen leaving the Donovan scene.
The man refused to pull over, Cannon said. A chase ensued and ended at the home on Charnwood.
Lonnie Punch’s relatives said the home belongs to one of his sisters, who was inside during the police shooting.
“Our belief, our strong belief, is this is the same suspect who shot and killed his wife overnight, using likely the same shotgun he was trying to use on the officers,” Cannon said.
Couple had broken up
Relatives said Lonnie Punch was released from state prison last spring after serving eight years for kidnapping his wife in 2000.
Lonnie Punch was upset that his wife was romantically involved with someone else, relatives said.
“He just said he wasn’t going to go back to prison,” said Yolanda Ward, who identified herself as his niece. “It was either they were going to shoot him, or he was going to kill himself.”
[...]
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks