Shoe left behind could solve double shooting

LEAGUE CITY — A photograph of a shoe, possibly discarded by a car burglary suspect, might help police learn the identity of the man who shot the couple who confronted him, authorities said Friday.

Police released a photograph Friday of the shoe, a men’s size-11 adidas AdiZero Crazy Light basketball shoe, and said Galveston County Crime Stoppers also is offering up to a $1,000 reward in the case, League City police Sgt. John Jordan said.

George Gutierrez, 41, remains hospitalized from critical injuries, but his wife was treated and released. The couple saw the man burglarizing their car and confronted him shortly after 5 a.m. Monday in the 2300 block of Meade Court, Jordan said.

“As the gunman was running from the scene of the shooting, one of the shoes fell off,” Jordan said. “The shoe is currently being processed for DNA evidence and fingerprints.”

Police received four reports of car burglaries in the area before the shooting, two in the same Ellis Landing subdivision and two in the Clear Creek Village subdivision.

Witness accounts confirm the crimes most likely were committed by the same suspects because of the similarity of a description of a getaway vehicle, Jordan said.

Witnesses to the other car burglaries reported seeing and hearing a small sports car with a loud exhaust, he said.

“It is now believed there were at least two persons involved, as witnesses described one person driving the vehicle and one person getting in and out breaking into cars,” Jordan said.

Police described the shooting suspect as a white man in his 20s. He stood about 5-feet 6-inches tall and weighed 170 pounds. He wore a dark, hooded sweatshirt.

Police described the getaway automobile as a black sports car with a loud muffler. It was a late 1990s to early 2000s model.

Jordan asked anyone with information to call Galveston County Crime Stoppers at 409-763-8477 or League City police at 281-554-1802.