Killed by IA:

Feb. 22, 2008, 2:20PM
Deputy remembered as serious, but fun-loving, cop
By KEVIN MORAN
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
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Craig Miller was a hard-working cop and devoted family man who also loved to make people laugh, two longtime friends said today.

"If he wasn't a police officer, he would have been a great comedian on Saturday Night Live," said Brenham resident Ross Martella, a friend of Miller's since they attended Stratford High School in the early 1980s. "He was a nice person."

Miller, 43, was killed Thursday night when the sport utility vehicle he was driving collided with a truck on a Katy Freeway service road. The 20-year veter of the Harris County Sheriff's Office was working on an undercover assignment at the time.

The driver of the truck, Jose Jesus Vieyra, 56, was charged today with criminally negligent homicide. Federal authorities also placed an immigration hold on him, saying he is an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

Martella, who works in the oilfield services business, said Miller worked his way up through the ranks, starting as a jailer.

"And if someone called the law on you, you'd have been lucky if Craig was the officer involved," he said. "He was fair and he had common sense and he would listen to both sides."

Greg New said he grew up with Miller in the Nottingham Forest area in the Spring Branch school district. New graduated with Martella from Stratford High in 1981 and Miller followed in 1982, New said.

"This will leave a major hole in a lot of people's lives," New said. "He was a great husband and father."

New, a professional musician, said he and Miller shared a Houston apartment when Miller was starting his law enforcement training.

He said he, Miller and Martella fished together and their families spent time together.

New recalled that he hosted a Halloween party last year and Miller showed up as the Headless Horseman, carrying a fake head under his arm.

"He just liked being around people and doing that kind of stuff," New said. "He'd help people out any way he could."

He said Miller is survived by his wife, Michelle, their son Avery, 12, and daughter Addison, 9.
kevin.moran@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 62619.html