Texas man sentenced to death for killing Sikh police | Texas

A man was sentenced to death on Wednesday for the fatal 2019 killing of a law enforcement officer who was the first Sikh deputy in his Texas agency.

A Harris County jury deliberated for about 35 minutes before sentencing Robert Solis, 50, to death after finding him guilty of manslaughter in the Oct. 17 slaying of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal.

According to court records, Solis shot the 42-year-old deputy several times during a traffic stop in 2019 on a residential cul-de-sac 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Houston. Dhaliwal was walking back to his patrol car when Solis shot him from behind.

“The defendant shot a deputy in uniform, shooting him in cold blood in broad daylight. That makes him the worst of the worst, which is why we asked the jury to sentence him to the death penalty,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Solis represented himself in court after the dismissal of three of his defense attorneys.

Prosecutors told jurors that Solis had multiple convictions for robbery and sexual assault leading up to Dhaliwal’s murder.

Assistant District Attorney Cathy Warren, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement Wednesday that Dhaliwal was not only a trailblazer in the law enforcement community, but also an exceptional officer.

“Deputy Dhaliwal was a pillar of this community and he set the bar when it came to law enforcement,” Warren said. “His loss is a loss that each of us feels. Today, we are glad that this jury was able to deliver justice.”