Silvano Cortez, a 55-year-old Hispanic man, was shot and killed during a home invasion at his Greenspoint-area residence in Houston on October 19, 2017. Cortez and his wife were asleep when two men forced entry and demanded money. A tenant living in a small backyard apartment heard the disturbance, came out armed, and a struggle followed. One intruder, Jonathan Vera, told his accomplice to shoot Cortez; the accomplice did so, fatally wounding him.

The intruders fled and the tenant fired at them as they ran, striking Vera in the right cheek. About 45 minutes later Vera was dropped off at an emergency room with that wound, later arrested and charged with capital murder. Vera pleaded guilty to one count of murder and was sentenced to 30 years; he was 21 at the time of sentencing and thus ineligible for the death penalty or life without parole. The actual shooter and a possible third person who may have driven the getaway car have not been identified. Cortez was remembered as a hardworking family man with children and grandchildren. Does anyone have information about the unidentified shooter or the getaway driver?