Unrelated Murder Charge Connected To Judge Kocurek Case

Investigators are questioning a longtime legal loser with a case currently pending before Travis County Judge Julie Kocurek in connection with the shooting outside her home Friday that left her seriously injured.

Chimene Hamilton Onyeri, 28, of Houston has been charged in an unrelated murder by Houston police, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said in a press conference Tuesday.

Acevedo made it clear that Onyeri is still just a person of interest in the attempted assassination of Kocurek. The police chief said that Austin police are “nowhere near ending the investigation” for the extremely high priority case and are not ready to call Onyeri a suspect or charge him.

If Onyeri is ultimately charged in the attempted murder of Kocurek, the murder case in Houston would take priority because it is a greater charge Acevedo said. But, the police are not resting on their laurels in the investigation just because Onyeri is in custody in Houston.

Acevedo said that “everyone who played a role prior, during and since,” the Friday ambush of Kocurek will be held accountable.

Prior to the shooting, prosecutors in Austin had asked Kocurek to void a plea deal they had made with Onyeri in a 2012 fraud case, reported the Austin American-Statesman. In that case, Rollingwood police charged Onyeri after finding him with 17 gift cards encoded with stolen bank account information during a traffic stop, reported the Statesman.

If the judge had granted the prosecutors’ request, Onyeri would have been heading to prison, according to the Statesman.

The Austin Police Department sent out the following statement Monday night regarding Onyeri’s arrest:

“The Austin Police Department is aware of the arrest in Houston of a person of interest in the shooting of the Honorable Judge Julie Kocurek. The arrest was for unrelated charges and we will not make any further comments at this time due to our ongoing investigation.”

Onyeri’s criminal record in Texas is extensive, the Statesman reported, and includes about a dozen arrests on charges including fraud and identity theft and evading arrest. A murder charge in 2008 was dismissed.

Through a family representative, the judge’s family sent out the following statement Tuesday morning:

“The Kocurek family is grateful for everything being done on their behalf and appreciates the effort being undertaken by those involved in the investigation. For the time being, Judge Kocurek and her family will remain completely focused on her recovery.”

[Photo courtesy of Sugar Land Police]