HOUSTON — A judge set a new bond for Tiffany Henderson, who is charged with felony hindering apprehension.
Her son, Tavores Henderson, is charged with capital murder after he was accused of running over Nassau Bay Police Sgt. Kaila Sullivan during a traffic stop on Dec. 10.
Tiffany Henderson appeared before a judge Monday morning who set a new bond of $125,000. That judge also revoked Henderson’s bond on an October assault charge and set a new bond of $60,000.
Both Henderson and her boyfriend, Geoffrey Wheeler, were taken into custody immediately after their hearings.
Wheeler is also charged with felony hindering apprehension. The judge revoked his previous personal bond and set a new bond of $50,000.
"Had they been forthcoming, we would have Mr. Henderson in custody that night, there wouldn’t have been hundreds of man hours, the danger to the entire community before we finally apprehended him two days later,” Sean Teare, with the Harris County District Attorney's Office, said. “Going forward, any individual that we can show helped Mr. Henderson escape arrest for two days is gonna face the exact same charges.”
If convicted, Tiffany Henderson is facing 25 to life in prison because she has priors. Wheeler is facing two to 10 in prison if convicted.
Tiffany Henderson has defended her son saying he is "innocent until proven guilty."
Authorities said Tavores Henderson was pulled over Tuesday night for speeding at a Nassau Bay apartment complex. While authorities were conducting the traffic stop, they realized he had an active warrant for a domestic violence incident.
While attempting to handcuff Henderson, he was able to push Sullivan away and get back into his vehicle, authorities said. He is accused of running her over, causing fatal injuries.
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Tiffany Henderson said she was on the phone with Tavores Henderson during the incident and claimed he panicked before driving off.
“He was scared. He panicked. My son has been taking drugs to cope with what’s been going on with him. It was simply an incident. It was a mistake. Mistakes happen every day," she said.
Tiffany Henderson said Tavores Henderson suffers from mental health issues and things only got worse after his grandmother passed away last year. She said he quit taking his medication. Tiffany Henderson said she took her son to see a psychologist just hours before he allegedly killed Sgt. Sullivan.
“They want to make it seem how they want to make it seem because she was a police officer,” Tiffany Henderson said. “I understand that. My condolences go out to her and her family. Everybody’s going through it right now. My child is a child also, so both sides of each family is really going through it.”
Tiffany Henderson was charged in connection with the incident because authorities determined that she helped her son get away from the crime scene and avoid arrest for nearly two days after the incident.
According to court documents, when she was first questioned about her son's whereabouts a few hours after the deadly incident, Tiffany Henderson denied knowing who Tavores Henderson was at all. After more questioning, she admitted to being his biological mother, court records said.
During the initial questioning, Tiffany Henderson and Wheeler both denied knowing where Tavores Henderson was located.
During their investigation, authorities found out that Tavores Henderson was taken to a South Loop hotel on the night of the incident. Surveillance video showed Tiffany Henderson and Wheeler dropping him off before speaking to authorities.
“Did they see him at the hotel with me?” Tiffany Henderson asked KHOU 11 reporter Michelle Choi. "They’ve got surveillance footage of me, my fiancé, and someone else, not Tavores.”
When asked why she initially lied, according to court documents, Tiffany Henderson said, "because I am a mom."
When Wheeler was asked why he lied, he reportedly said, "Because I was scared."
Regarding Tiffany Henderson's October charge, Teare said:
“A 65-year-old individual was basically trying to film and break up a fight in a park that Ms. Henderson was somehow involved in, and she didn’t believe that that was appropriate, so she went over and punched him in the face a few times, knocked him to the ground, and then tried to flee in the same red Jeep that her son used to murder Sgt. Sullivan.”
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