Father of fugitive ex-LAPD cop indicted on suspicion of lying to FBI

The father of a fugitive ex-LAPD officer charged with murder was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Texas on suspicion of lying to investigators, authorities said.

Victor Solis, 53, is charged with making a false statement to federal agents who were attempting to locate his son, Henry Solis, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in western Texas, which is handling the case.

If convicted, Victor Solis faces as long as five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to prosecutors, Victor Solis told FBI agents that he dropped his son off at an El Paso bus station and crossed alone into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 14.

Surveillance cameras at the border crossing, however, showed him walking into Mexico alongside his fugitive son, prosecutors said.

According to a sworn affidavit, Henry Solis -- at the time an off-duty probationary officer with the Los Angeles Police Department -- fatally shot Salome Rodriguez Jr. in the streets of downtown Pomona during the predawn hours of March 13.

After the shooting, he contacted his father, who left his Lancaster home to pick up his son and drive him to El Paso, according to a sworn affidavit.

The Volkswagen Jetta that Victor Solis was driving the night of the killing was found a few blocks from the shooting scene, Pomona police said.

The LAPD has since fired the once-promising cop and former Marine, who failed to show up for work a day after the killing.

Authorities have launched an international search to locate Solis and the FBI is offering a reward of as much as $25,000 for information leading to his arrest.

Victor Solis was arrested March 26 and is being held in a Texas jail. His federal public defender could not immediately be reached for comment.

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