Man arrested, charged again in stabbing death of boy, 11, who begged for his life
HOUSTON -- The man who was accused of murdering 11-year-old Josue Flores three years ago and was later released has been charged again in the case.
Andre Jackson now faces a new murder charge. Houston police arrested him without incident Tuesday morning in Baytown.
Josue was stabbed to death while walking home from Marshall Middle School on May 17, 2016, in north Houston.
Witnesses said in his last moments, Josue could be heard screaming, "Don't kill me, please!"
"We were able to make a case to the grand jury that Jackson is in fact the murderer of Josue Flores," said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
Jackson was initially arrested and charged on June 3, 2016 for the murder, but the charges were dropped.
Then this year, on the three-year anniversary of Josue's death, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo and cold case detectives reiterated that Jackson is still a person of interest in the case.
Acevedo said in May that advances in DNA technology could help point to Josue's killer.
After Acevedo's comments, Jackson claimed his innocence in a 10-minute YouTube video.
"I am innocent and need the public to understand institutionalized racism and systematic prejudice, which will be the topic of a book that I am publishing," Jackson said at the time.
Jackson also claimed he was being "harassed."
"I have nothing to do with this case. You can stop considering me a suspect. You can stop mentioning my name in this case," Jackson added.
Last Friday, ABC7's sister station ABC13 Eyewitness News was the first to report that investigators discovered new physical evidence in the murder case.
Now Jackson has been charged. Police said they had him under 24/7 surveillance for several days.
Ogg said that though she is not allowed by law to discuss the specifics of the grand jury proceedings, she pointed again to the newly-tested evidence.
"I am willing to stand with these prosecutors that it is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of Andre Jackson's guilt," Ogg told the media.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said that he and Acevedo met with Josue's family last week about the developments.
"The sixth grader was a smart, loving and respectful student. His family misses him dearly every day, the community misses him," Turner said of Josue.
"For the past three years, our department has worked tirelessly to bring justice to Josue, the Flores family, and our extended community," Acevedo said in a statement. "Today's true bill is a significant step in our journey to justice, and we look forward to supporting the Flores family as this case proceeds through the criminal courts."
The news of the arrest Tuesday was a long time coming for Flores' family and neighbors.
Some of them started crying as Jackson's arrest was announced.
"We were just waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting and this day has finally gotten here. I'm just so happy," said Stella Mireles-Walters.
Mireles-Walters is the organizer of "Safe Walk Home Northside," the group that was started after Josue was murdered walking home from school.
"I just ask you to put yourself in that mother's position, three years waiting for justice. No one is going to rush, and nobody is going to say anything to jeopardize that because the ultimate justice is when he's locked up in prison, and that's what I want us to focus on today," said HPD Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner.
