A police officer in Dallas, Texas, was arrested on Thursday on two counts of capital murder in a case in which he's accused of hiring hitmen to kidnap and kill two people.
Bryan Riser, a 13-year veteran with the police department, is accused of ordering the killings of 31-year-old Liza Saenz and 61-year-old Albert Douglas, according to to a press release from the Dallas Police Department.
Riser, 36, is on administrative leave from the department pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs administrative investigation.
Police Chief Eddie García said during a press conference on Thursday that a man came forward in August 2019 to tell police he had kidnapped and killed Saenz and Douglas at Riser's direction.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Riser knew the man who came forward when he was young, and after they reconnected in 2013, Riser offered him $3,500 to kill Douglas, and $6,000 to kill Saenz.
Douglas was ultimately fatally shot in February 2017 and Riser paid the man $3,500, the probable cause affidavit alleged.
Saenz was fatally shot two weeks later, but the $6,000 was never paid out because the man accused of killing her and his associates were arrested on separate capital murder charges, the probable cause affidavit said.
Saenz's body was found in the Trinity River in 2017, but Douglas' was never recovered, according to the affidavit.
Alongside Riser, Kevin Kidd, Emmanuel Kilpatrick, and Jermon Simmons have been charged with capital murder in Saenz's death, according to the Associated Press.
Kilpatrick is already serving life in prison for the killings of a father and son, while Simmons has also been charged in another death, the AP reported.
Riser patrolled for more than a year while the Dallas Police Department investigated allegations that he had hired the man to kill Douglas and Saenz.
Former Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall told the Dallas Morning News that the department allowed Riser to continue to work because investigators did not want to tip him off to their probe, according to AP.
García said at his news conference on Thursday that Riser had a relationship with at least one of the victims, but did not further elaborate.
He added that he expects Riser will be fired when the investigation into him is concluded.
"This individual has no business wearing this uniform," he said. "I can't be clearer on that."
Riser was booked into a Dallas County jail on Thursday, records show. His bail was set at $5 million. He hasn't yet entered a plea in the case.
