HITCHCOCK
It has been three weeks since Bria Lockett, a 27-year-old woman from La Marque, was shot to death inside her car on a residential street in Hitchcock.
Lockett’s death was shocking, particularly because of how much more tragic it could have been. Lockett’s car was struck by gunfire multiple times, all while her 3-year-old son was inside.
The child was uninjured in the shooting.
Investigators have been searching for the person who shot Lockett on Jan. 6. But on Friday, the sheriff’s office said it needed more help from the public to identify a suspect and make an arrest.
“We’ve had several leads and they were promising,” but they so far have been unsuccessful, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said.
After weeks of investigation into Lockett’s death haven’t led to any arrests, three groups — Galveston County Crime Stoppers, Mainland Community Crime Stoppers and La Marque Crime Stoppers — are offering up to $6,000 for information that leads to charges.
According to a public obituary, Lockett was born in Galveston. She attended school in La Marque, where she played on the volleyball and basketball teams. She graduated from La Marque High School and took courses at Texas Southern University and Galveston College.
She dreamed of operating a food truck someday, according to the obituary.
“Cooking for Bria was her passion, it was music that stimulated her wonderful soul; she always had a dream and goal of owning her own food truck,” the obituary said.
Lockett’s funeral was held last week. Family members didn’t respond to a request for comment Friday.
The sheriff’s office has given out little information about the shooting. Lockett was driving her car on Wayne Johnson Avenue about 8:30 p.m. when the shooting occurred. Her vehicle was struck multiple times.
Lockett was taken to the University of Texas Medical Branch hospital in Galveston. She died at the hospital.
Hitchcock Police Chief Wilmon Smith joined the sheriff’s office in imploring the public to stand up and work with police in the investigation.
“We just need to do a better job of helping law enforcement and making sure we get the information to the proper authorities,” Smith said.
“It just seems that we see so much violence,” he said. “We become numb to it and we continue to eat our cornflakes and go about our business at home. And then when it hits home, we get up in arms about it.”
Leaders, including police, also needed to be held accountable and be committed to following through on their jobs, he said.
The Hitchcock Police Department asked the sheriff’s office to take over the investigation because the sheriff’s office has more investigative resources.
Trochesset said he didn’t want to say whether the sheriff’s office believed the gunman targeted Lockett or whether there was another reason behind the shooting.
“Until you have the facts, you just don’t know,” Trochesset said. “You’ve got a young mother who’s dead, and we’re trying to locate who the shooter was.”
John Wayne Ferguson: 409-683-5226; john.ferguson@galvnews.com or on Twitter
@johnwferguson.