On January 31, 1994, 24-year-old Houston Police Department Officer Guy P. Gaddis was shot and killed while transporting two handcuffed prisoners to jail. One of the prisoners, Edgar Arias Tamayo, concealed a gun and shot Officer Gaddis three times in the back of the head. The patrol car went out of control and crashed into a nearby house near the intersection of Chimney Rock Road and Holly Street in Bellaire, Texas. Tamayo attempted to flee but was apprehended a short distance from the crash site.

Officer Gaddis, a United States Army Desert Storm veteran who had served with the department for two and a half years, was survived by his expectant wife Rosa Gaddis and his parents Edwin and Gayle Gaddis. Tamayo, then 26, was charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery; he was convicted and later sentenced to death. The case prompted changes in procedures for handling and transporting prisoners and drew attention because Tamayo was a Mexican national, prompting international legal and diplomatic efforts.