| Birth Date: | 22 July 1967 |
| Death Place: | Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas, U.S. |
| Penalty: | Death |
| Victims: | Guy P. Gaddis, 24 |
| Birth Place: | Mexico |
| Conviction: | Capital murder |
| Criminal Status: | Executed |
| Death Cause: | Execution by lethal injection |
Edgar Tamayo Arias (July 22, 1967[1] – January 22, 2014[2]) was a Mexican national sentenced to death in Texas for killing a police officer.[3]
His victim, 24-year old Houston Police Department (HPD) officer Guy P. Gaddis,[3] was married and had served with HPD for two years.[4]
On January 31, 1994, Tamayo shot Gaddis outside of the Topaz nightclub in Southwest Houston. Gaddis apprehended Tamayo, who had robbed another person, after the robbery victim contacted Gaddis and told him that Tamayo and an accomplice were the perpetrators. However Tamayo had a hidden gun and used it to kill Gaddis. The police officer had two bullets in the head and one in the neck. During the arrest police did not inform Tamayo that he could contact the Mexican consulate. Ten days before the trial began, the Mexican government was notified of the case.[3]
Tamayo's attorneys were Sandra Babcock and Maurie Levin.[4]
Tamayo was received into the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system on November 18, 1994.[1] Tamayo was initially located in the Ellis Unit, but was transferred to the Allan B. Polunsky Unit (formerly the Terrell Unit) in 1999.[5]
John Kerry, the Secretary of State of the United States, and officials from the government of Mexico had asked for a hearing of Tamayo's case, regarding whether the lack of timely notification of the consulate affected his case, after an international court ruled in 2004 that any prisoner who had his or her rights to contact a consulate should have a hearing. The Office of the Attorney General of Texas stated that Tamayo opted not to have such a review.[3]
Ultimately Tamayo was executed by lethal injection at Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas. He was 46 at the time of his death.[3]
