A settlement over the payment of a reward has been reached between Home Depot and the tipster whose information reportedly led to the arrest of a suspect in the murder of a Katy-area Home Depot employee.
The informant’s attorney, Damian LaCroix, confirmed that a settlement was reached late last week with the Atlanta-based home improvement chain. Terms of the settlement were not released.
LaCroix said Home Depot had lived up to its promise.
“In the end, I think (Home Depot) handled it responsibly,” LaCroix said.
The last settlement offer publicly released was $65,000 to the informant; $18,000 to the widow of the victim, 56-year-old Donald Thomas and $12,000 to charity.
The name of the informant has also not been released because, according to his attorney, he fears for his safety. In court documents, he has only been identified as “John Doe.”
In a statement, Home Depot spokesman Craig Fishel said the company had reached a settlement that was “satisfactory to all parties.”
“We appreciate the informant’s efforts to provide the police with information related to this senseless crime,” the statement said.
Thomas was run over by a truck on February 18, 2008 when he tried to stop the vehicle’s occupants from stealing pallets from the Home Depot on Fry Road near The Grand Parkway.
Fort Bend County sheriff’s deputies said Thomas was run over by a white 1996 Isuzu box van with a rear roll-up door and Texas license plate No. 67F-BT4.
Information provided by the tipster led police to 23-year-old suspect Julio Cesar Escolero, who reportedly fled to Florida following the incident.
According to court documents, Escolero confessed to being the driver of the truck that ran Thomas down. He is currently being held in the Fort Bend County Jail.
Home Depot initially offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of suspects in the case. When Thomas died from his injuries about a week later, Home Depot increased the reward offer to $100,000.
The informant said despite his providing the information that led to the arrest of Escolero, Home Depot initially told him he was ineligible for the reward because he did not go through Crime Stoppers. Home Depot later offered to pay the man $5,000.
When the informant informed Home Depot he was going to file suit, the company increased the settlement offer to $15,000.
The final settlement came following a year-long negotiation effort between the parties.
By: John Pape on Tue, Apr 21, 2009
News