Overview
- Stewart, convicted by a Harris County jury on Friday, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
- Deputy Darren Almendarez, off duty and shopping with his wife in March 2022, confronted three people stealing his truck’s catalytic converter at a Joe V’s lot, was shot, returned fire, and later died at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest.
- Prosecutors said Stewart fired the fatal shots, pointing to DNA on a gun magazine and records showing he bought both firearms linked to the scene.
- Stewart denied firing, testifying that co-defendant Fredrick Tardy pulled the trigger as his lawyer argued he was unarmed and hiding.
- Two co-defendants, Fredarius Clark and Fredrick James Tardy, remain charged, and the shooting helped spur Texas’ 2023 “Deputy Darren Almendarez Act,” which increased penalties for catalytic-converter thefts tied to valuable metals in the parts.