Clarification on arraignment and press conference

The arraignment is Wednesday morning at 9 AM. Andrade himself will probably not be present, and he will probably simply be assigned a defense attorney who will prepare documents for his case. The actual trial and court dates will probably not be set for a while, but we will post them here when we know about it.

On Friday at 10AM, we will be conducting a press conference. There will also be an Officer Po Chen from HPD, in addition to my family and Rep. Martha Wong. Both were very helpful to our family throughout the entire ordeal, and we are grateful for their support.

Events this week

Leon Andrade is now in a Harris County Jail, and his arraignment is set to be on Wednesday, August 30, 2006. I will post more as I find out more.

We will probably conduct a press conference either Wednesday or Friday at the Law Offices of Robert Kwok, LLP. When a hard time/date is set, I'll post it here. If it is on Friday I will participate in it.

EDIT: The press conference is in fact going to be on Friday at 10pm. So I'll be there, and so will Texas State Representative Martha Wong, who has been very helpful in getting attention and resources on the case, will attend as well.

A letter from the United States Marshals Service

I received this email from the U.S. Marshals Service yesterday -

Dear Shane:

Like you, I am Army (29 years; armored cavalry; started as a private and retired with the rank of colonel); and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

In April, I received an information copy of your letter to Senator Cornyn describing the tragic loss of your father and the subsequent flight of Leon Andrade. I also received a copy of the FBI’s letter to Senator Cornyn informing him that the United States Marshals Service was pursuing Andrade. Your poignant email to the Senator touched us deeply and strengthened our resolve to locate and apprehend this violent felon.

It is my hope that you have already been informed of Andrade’s apprehension. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Elkins, West Virginia. Investigators with the Houston-based U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders & Fugitive Task Force developed leads in West Virginia and sent that information to U.S. Marshals in Elkins, WV who arrested him at 12:00 pm yesterday. Andrade is being held in Tygart Regional Jail pending extradition proceedings.

You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Jay McNulty

Chief, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs
United States Marshals Service

Some local news stories concerning the arrest

Although we have not personally confirmed any of the facts with the U.S. Marshals, except that Andrade was arrested in West Virginia around noon central time yesterday, there are already two local news stories posted online:

Houston Chronicle - Man Arrested for March machete attack, killing
KHOU - U.S. Marshals capture alleged machete killer In West Virginia

Edit (08/08/06) : Here are some more links -
Google News on Andrade Arrested (many links to various similar stories)
The Inter-Mountain Newspaper in Elkins, West Virginia

The Inter-Mountain contacted me directly and I sent them a statement, which they used. Also, it appears that his roommate was detained for his illegal residency in the U.S. I will keep posting as I learn more.

(08/09/06) - 殘殺黃興維兇手昨在美東被捕
From the Charleston Daily Mail, with a description of how they caught him.

Andrade arrested in W. Virginia

I have been notified by the U.S. Marshals office in Houston that Leon Andrade has been arrested in West Virginia at around noon Central Time today, and that they are bringing him back to Houston to face charges.

I will post more details as I learn more. Thanks everyone for your prayers and your support. Please continue to pray for my family and to pray for justice.