‘Definition of a Serial Killer’: Texas Man Charged in 4 Killings

Jeremy Harris is a Texas man who police say killed at least four people between late October and mid-November of this year.

The 31-year-old has been linked to three deaths in Dallas, dating back to October 31, and one in Celina, according to police departments in both areas. Harris was taken into custody on November 18 after Celina police found the body of 60-year-old Blair Carter inside a burning house earlier that morning, the department said on Facebook.

Dallas Police Deputy Chief Reuben Ramirez described Harris as “the definition of a serial killer,” The Dallas Morning News reported.

“In my opinion based on what we’ve seen so far, I believe that this is the definition of a serial killer,” he told the newspaper. “It’s random, there is no known association between victims and the complainant.”

Meanwhile, Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis declared that he is working with the “numerous area law enforcement agencies” tied to the murders.

“My office has been working closely with numerous area law enforcement agencies since Wednesday’s murder in Celina and the subsequent arrest of Jeremy Rashad Harris for that crime,” he said on November 20.

“We will continue to coordinate with all the involved agencies and jurisdictions to protect the public and see that justice is done. To respect the integrity of ongoing investigations, I will have no further comment at this time.“

Harris is currently being held in the Collin County Jail on a $3 million bond, according to online jail records.

Here’s what you need to know about Jeremy Harris’ arrest:

1. Harris Is Responsible for Three Shooting Deaths in Dallas, Police Say

On October 31, 19-year-old Robert Jaden Urrea was waiting for a rideshare after a Halloween party in downtown Dallas, according to the Dallas Police Department and The Dallas Morning News.

The Southern Methodist University student was crossing an intersection around 3 a.m. when “a white Ford Taurus with chrome rims and tinted windows pulled over,” the newspaper reported. Police said Harris, who was driving the vehicle, summoned Urrea before shooting him and fleeing, the arrest affidavit states.

The other two victims, 36-year-old Adam Gautreau and 57-year-old Kenneth Jerome Hamilton, were both shot on November 14, Dallas police said in a November 20 release.

While Gautreau was shot on a street corner, Hamilton was hit from inside his car at a red light, the department continued.

“The characteristics of the shootings are similar, he’s always shooting out of a vehicle,” Ramirez told WBAP of Harris.

2. Harris Is Accused of Killing His Ex-Girlfriend’s Father

Following the shootings, the Celina Fire Department responded to a house fire on Anvil Drive on the morning of November 18, according to a release from the police department. After extinguishing the fire, the firefighters found Carter’s dead body inside, the release continued.

Witnesses told police that they heard gunshots inside the home before they arrived, Celina police disclosed in the statement. A man dressed in black “carrying an unknown object”  was then seen fleeing the scene in a black SUV, police added.

Harris was booked into the Ellis County Jail later that evening, according to the Celina press release.

Dallas Assistant Chief Avery Moore confirmed to The Dallas Morning News that Carter was related to an ex-girlfriend of Harris.

3. Harris Hails From Red Oak, Texas, According to Online Jail Records

Collin County GovernmentJeremy Harris.

According to online jail records, Harris was born on September 12, 1989.

The 31-year-old stands at 5’9″ and weighs 185 pounds, the records state. Harris sports brown hair and brown eyes, and has several tattoos, the documents continue.

His address is listed in Red Oak, the page discloses.

4. Harris Has a Prior Criminal & Legal History

Collin County Government

Though Harris has a prior criminal history, “he has not been accused of the types of aggravated assaults and slayings he’s now linked to,” police told WFAA.

Online court records show that Harris faced protective orders from a woman with the same last name as Carter in 2015 and 2018, according to the Collin County Government website.

Dallas police officials said they believe Harris acted alone in the recent shootings, WFAA added.

“It is extremely unusual for someone to just go on a shooting spree,” Ramirez told the station, calling him the “lone shooter.”

5. Police Connected Harris to the Dallas Murders Through Cellphone Records

Dallas police linked Harris to the city shootings via cellphone records, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Heavy.

Investigators were first tipped after Celina police arrested Harris in relation to Carter’s death, the online record shows. Dallas police learned that Harris had been arrested in Ellis County in a black Chevy Tahoe — similar to the car used during the November 14 shootings, the affidavit says.

The Dallas Homicide Unit then obtained a search warrant for Harris’ phone records, which placed him at the scene of all crimes, the police record shows.

“We really started to find the pieces,” Ramirez told The Dallas Morning News. “Through collaboration with our federal partners, as well as the municipalities in this region … we really started to piece this thing together.”

Investigators later found a destroyed handgun in Harris’ car, according to the Dallas Police Department. An analyst confirmed it was the same weapon used in the other offenses, the department added.

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