Police ask for help finding Rowlett murder suspect

ROWLETT, Texas – Rowlett police are asking the public for help finding a murder suspect.

Detectives say the man, who was already on bail for aggravated robbery, failed to show up for court registration.

Kerry Cottrell was killed two weeks ago in the middle of the day.

The police know who their suspect is, but they don’t know where he is.

“His name is Virgil Allen Harris. He’s 40 years old. He’s from Mesquite, Texas.” – Rowlett, PD. Cruz Hernandez said. “He has dreadlocks and is known to drive an orange Dodge Charger.”

Det. Hernandez says Harris is their suspect, caught on film in a Feb. 26 murder outside some businesses in the 2100 block of Lakeview Parkway.

“The police investigation shows that there was a meeting about buying drugs, buying marijuana, and when these two people met, there was a quarrel between them. Shots were fired and our victim, our 22-year-old man, fired and he died,” Det. Hernandez said. “We have video of the suspect’s arrival. We have his identity, we have his car that he was in, and we are actively looking for him.”

The police are looking for him, but they don’t expect Frank Crowley at the courthouse.

“Today he did not appear at the hearing. We hoped to find him then. Hernandez explained. “He’s on bail from the County of Dallas for aggravated robbery and he didn’t show up for the trial date.”

[REPORTER: “So what does that mean?”]

“That means he’s on the run. He is armed and on the run,” Det said. Hernandez replied.

[REPORTER: “How difficult is it to track people down in a case like this?”]

“In this case, the car he was in when he committed the murder was not registered to him. We found the registered owner, and she’s not cooperating with our investigation. find Mr. Harris,” Hernandez said.

Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Harris’s arrest.

“We need to take him into custody on this murder warrant and find out what happened,” Det said. Hernandez said.

Detectives say Harris was not required to wear an ankle monitor as part of the terms of his bail for the aggravated robbery.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers or Rowlett Police.