Charges dropped against 1 in Texas campus shooting

January 28, 2013 @ 2:25 pm


Trey Foster leaves the courtroom after his appearance in the 228th State District Court at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, in Houston. Authorities took Foster, 22, into custody Friday, as a suspect in the shooting that took place on the Lone Star College campus. (Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle) (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Cody Duty) MBI (REV-SHARE) | Zoom
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) - Prosecutors on Monday dropped charges against a 22-year-old man who authorities initially believed was involved in a shooting that wounded him and two others at a Houston-area community college.

Carlton Berry was arrested soon after the Jan. 22 shootings at Lone Star College and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. But authorities later accused another man, Trey Foster, 22, of being the shooter.

Foster has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and faces a charge of resisting arrest in an earlier case. He was arrested Friday in the Dallas suburb of Plano.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia defended his agency's initial arrest of Berry, saying two of the victims initially indicated that Barry was the shooter. He also said Berry at first refused to talk to investigators, and it was only after he was charged that he pointed authorities to Foster.

"I support my investigators. I continue to support them," Garcia said. "I remain proud of their thoroughness and their relentless pursuit of the truth. They did what they were supposed to do."

Investigators say the shooting happened after 25-year-old Jody Neal bumped into Foster while Foster was walking with Berry. Foster and Neal argued but went their separate ways.

But when the two ran into each other 30 minutes later, they argued again and Foster fired at Neal, wounding him in the abdomen and leg. Berry also was shot and wounded, and a maintenance worker for the college, Bobby Cliburn, 55, was hit in the leg.

Authorities say at least 10 shots were fired, causing panic and a leading to a campus lockdown.

Berry's attorney, Robert A. Jones, said his client never should have been charged or jailed because the evidence showed he was a victim. Berry was shot in the left hip, which Jones said was an indication that Berry might have been facing away or running away from the shooter.

"He said that continually, whenever (authorities) talked to him, that he didn't do anything. But that wasn't enough. Then they started their investigation based upon his statement and they realized he didn't do anything," Jones said.

Prosecutor Alison Baimbridge said authorities dropped the charges in the interest of justice. She said that as with any investigation, the more witness interviews and evidence collecting that are done, authorities are "better able to determine who was where, what actually occurred."

Charges were formally dropped during a court hearing Monday, and Berry was later released from jail.

Foster made his initial court appearance Monday. He is being held on bonds totaling $100,000, and if he posts them, a judge ordered him subject to GPS monitoring and a curfew.

Quanell X, a community activist and a spokesman for Foster's family, said Foster told him Berry had nothing to do with the shooting. Berry and Foster apparently knew each other from school.

"It was inappropriate and wrong for Trey to have a pistol on campus," he said.

Quanell X said Foster legally bought the .40-caliber handgun authorities say was used in the shooting at a sporting goods store in Houston. Foster took a class for a concealed handgun license but had not completed the process to get a license, he said.

Garcia said investigators confirmed Foster bought the gun at the store, but noted there are questions about whether he should have been allowed to do so because of his criminal history.

Jess Myers, a spokesman for the sporting goods store, St. Paul, Minn.-based Gander Mountain, said the company couldn't provide firearms purchase records or comment on an ongoing investigation.

"Gander Mountain operates in strict compliance with all local, state and federal laws regarding firearms ownership and fully cooperates with law enforcement," Myers said in an email.

Quanell X said Foster bought the gun to defend himself after he was shot in the face a couple of years ago and had recently been receiving threats. He said Foster panicked during the shooting.

"He was very remorseful and sorry that innocent people got shot," he said.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
More National News
Top Stories

  • I-5 Bridge Collapse
    Three people were pulled from the water after I-5 bridge collapses over Skagit River

  • Ban Lifted
    Washington state leaders hail vote to allow openly gay Boy Scouts

  • There's a Zone for That
    Mapping out a plan for marijuana growers and sellers
MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (11)


  • Add A Comment

  • otherpointofview wrote...
    hope everyone is safe
    January 22, 2013 10:29 am
    more copycats.. hey media how about you stop spreading this disease
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CldWtrSrf wrote...
    Operation Gladio....
    January 22, 2013 10:31 am
    Look it up. All the mass shootings in the last year fit the profile to a T. Operation GLADIO, inform yourself.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    What are the suspects descriptions, were they carrying the guns legally AND
    January 22, 2013 11:34 am
    What kind of guns were used...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Concerned US Citizen wrote...
    Gun Free Zones
    January 22, 2013 12:50 pm
    Don't you just love the sense of peace and safety that gun free zones give the liberals out there. You won't be safe because only the criminals and crazies will have the guns. Concealed carry is the answer. Please except REALITY progressives!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Putting words in peoples mouths?
    January 22, 2013 1:01 pm
    That is the only thing this bombastic blowhard, cbrew, does! Attempts this and to shout down all who oppose her with this tactic and the party line of hate and racism.

    With all the hate and anger injected into her post, one can only imagine what she is capable of doing!

    Your anger is staggering!

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Operation Gladio -
    January 22, 2013 1:08 pm
    Operation Gladio (Italian: Operazione Gladio) is the codename for a clandestine NATO "stay-behind" operation in Europe during the Cold War. Its purpose was to continue anti-communist actions in the event of a Soviet invasion and conquest. Although Gladio specifically refers to the Italian branch of the NATO stay-behind organizations, "Operation Gladio" is used as an informal name for all stay-behind organizations, sometimes called "Super NATO". The name Gladio is the Italian form of gladius, a type of Roman shortsword.[1] Operating in many NATO and even some neutral countries,[2] Gladio was part of a series of national operations first coordinated by the Clandestine Committee of the Western Union (CCWU), founded in 1948. After the creation of NATO in 1949, the CCWU was integrated into the Clandestine Planning Committee (CPC), founded in 1951 and overseen by SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe), transferred to Belgium after France’s official withdrawal from NATO's Military Committee in 1966 – which was not followed by the dissolution of the French stay-behind paramilitary movements. The role of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in sponsoring Gladio and the extent of its activities during the Cold War era, and its relationship to right-wing terrorist attacks perpetrated in Italy during the "Years of Lead" (late 1960s to early 1980s) and other similar clandestine operations is the subject of ongoing debate and investigation but never proved. Switzerland and Belgium have had parliamentary inquiries into the matter.[3]
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Republican answer MORE GUNS -
    January 22, 2013 1:11 pm
    King Obama answer hand them over rover!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    you take it from here BLAWN -
    January 22, 2013 1:56 pm
    Stop putting .... in my mouth. You are swallowing ........
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }