On January 15, 2025, two Texas law enforcement officers were killed in separate incidents, marking a somber day for the state’s law enforcement community. Deputy Sheriff Jesus “Jesse” Vargas of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office and Sergeant Mark Butler of the Navasota Police Department both lost their lives while performing their duties.
Vargas was shot while attempting to serve a warrant as part of the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force in Houston, Texas. The suspect, Robert Lee Davis III, also known as Sean Christopher Davis, fled the scene. Davis, 56, was wanted on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Houston Police Department Chief Noe Diaz.
“What has happened is extremely tragic,” said T. Michael O’Connor, U.S. Marshal of the Southern District of Texas.
Following the shooting, authorities issued a Blue Alert, a notification system similar to an AMBER Alert, created in 2008 by Texas Governor Rick Perry to help speed up the apprehension of violent criminals who have injured or killed law enforcement officers. A large-scale search operation was launched involving helicopters, K-9 units, and multiple law enforcement agencies.
During the search, K-9 officer Rocky (a dog) located Davis hiding in a dumpster near the original crime scene. “The K-9 had alerted officers to the dumpster and believed Davis had been hiding there since the shooting,” Houston Police Department Chief Noe Diaz said.
Davis shot Rocky multiple times. Officers then returned fire, killing Davis. Rocky was airlifted for emergency veterinary care and is expected to make a full recovery.
On the same day, approximately 70 miles northwest of Houston, Sergeant Mark Butler of the Navasota Police Department was killed in a head-on collision during a police pursuit. The incident began when College Station police responded to a forgery report at a bank. The suspect, driving a black Jeep Wrangler, collided with Butler’s marked Chevrolet Tahoe around 3:30 pm. Both Butler and the suspect were pronounced dead at the scene.
These deaths represent the first two law enforcement fatalities in Texas for 2025, and two of only four nationwide during this period. The other two officers lost were from the Irondale Police Department in Alabama, who was struck by a vehicle, and a deputy sheriff from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in California, who was killed in a motorcycle crash.
Vargas was a 17-year veteran of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department and is survived by his wife and three children. He worked with the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force to apprehend dangerous fugitives.
