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In one of the last homicides of 2020, 32-year-old Isaac Mozeke was shot by an unknown gunman while taking an evening walk to a convenience store.
This seemingly random act of violence occurred on a corner in one of the most violent neighborhoods of Dallas one that has been a pervasive problem for decades in a city that is struggling to find answers to a recent uptick in violent crime.
Nicole Hill holds several photos of deceased brothers Isaac (second from left) and Ishmael Mozeke (left) and their deceased mother Melody Bell, who also went by the name Afiah Bey (center) at her cousin’s apartment in Dallas. Hill was a longtime family friend of the Mozeke brothers, both of whom died by gun violence two decades apart. Bey died mere weeks after Isaac was shot and killed in December 2020.(Lynda M. González / Staff Photographer)
Dallas police Officer Bryan Riser, who was arrested on two capital murder charges last week, patrolled the streets of Dallas for several years even as authorities were looking into him and his father, Byron “Blue” Riser, in connection with one of the killings in 2017, records obtained by The Dallas Morning News show.
Thirty-year-old Liza Saenz was murdered in March 2017, and her body was dumped in the Trinity River. Three men were arrested in the case. One of them told investigators in August 2019 that DPD officer Riser had ordered the killings, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Since his March 4 arrest, Riser has been held at the Dallas County jail. His bail was set at $5 million
Jaime Resendez
In a statement, the mayor said, This is an awful situation, and the public deserves answers regarding who knew what, when they knew it, and why the officer remained on active duty. I fully expect this committee to get to the bottom of exactly what transpired in a fair, judicious, and transparent manner.”
Last week former Dallas Chief of Police Renee Hall said in a statement on Thursday that: DPD Special Investigations Unit, in collaboration with the FBI, recommended not placing Riser on administrative leave. Taking that action could have compromised the investigation.
But the next day FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno flatly denied his agents made such a suggestion.