A man who police say was a passenger in the car which a fallen Bellaire police officer was chasing when he crashed is now facing charges.
Dominique Moore is facing felony tampering charges for his part in the chase as well as misdemeanor theft and evading charges. Dominique Moore is the twin brother of the car’s driver Dante Moore, who is facing murder charges in officer Anthony Marco Zarate’s death.
Zarate had completed a routine traffic stop near Meyerland Plaza when employees of the Target in the shopping center flagged him down and reported a theft, police said. Zarate tried to pull over the suspects in the plaza parking lot, whom police say are Dominique and Dante Moore, but they two took off.
Zarate pursued the vehicle through residential streets on the outskirts of Bellaire and in the city of Houston. He turned onto the 8500 block of Ferris Drive toward Beechnut Street and crashed into the parked trailer.
When officers arrived, Zarate was unconscious and not breathing, Holloway said. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
Dante Moore, 27, is facing a felony murder charge after police say he confessed to fleeing from Zarate when the officer crashed his motorcycle and died Tuesday, July 12. He could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the murder charge.
Although Dante Moore had no direct connection to Zarate’s crash, prosecutors say they’re still able to charge Moore with murder since he was allegedly “commit(ing) an act clearly dangerous to human life” when Zarate slammed into the back of a landscaper’s trailer.
Prosecutor Britni Cooper said Dante Moore told police he was driving in excess of 80 mph during the pursuit, which started in the Meyerland Plaza shopping center.
Zarate served with the Bellaire Police Department since May 2009. Before that, he served in the United States .
© Copyright 2016, Your Houston News, The Woodlands, TX.
