HOUSTON'S DA JUST PLAIN SCREWED UP

Harris County Murder Suspect Gets PR Bond After District Attorney Fails to File Indictment on Time

Prosecutors must file indictments within 90 days of an arrest.

 

ByHollyHansen 

 

The Texan

Jul 10, 2025

 

Masiullah Sahil 

 

A suspect charged in the murder of a war hero who served as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan had his bond reduced from $750,000 to a $100,000 personal recognizance (PR) bond Thursday, after prosecutors with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office (HCDAO) failed to file an indictment on time. 

Abdul Niazi was stabbed to death at his office in West Houston on March 26, and police arrested and charged Masiullah Sahil the next day. A relative told the media that immediately after the stabbing, Sahil answered Niazi's phone and told the dead man’s wife and son that Niazi had been sent to the “afterlife.”  

Under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedures, if a grand jury indictment is not filed within 90 days of an arrest, the presiding judge must give the defendant a PR bond — which requires no payment prior to release. 

HCDAO prosecutors filed new charges against Sahil on Thursday before the man could be released. For felony charges of Tampering/Fabricating Physical Evidence with intent to conceal, Judge Emily Detoto of the 177th District Court set bond at $25,000.

A note on Sahil’s docket entered July 10, 2025 reads, “The State, today, after failing to timely indict the Defendant on the underlying Murder offense within the 90 day timeline, filed this current charge of tampering, said charges having arisen out of the same transaction.”

In another note, Detoto added that the court had asked why the defendant was not indicted within 90 days but that “The State could not provide the Court with any valid reason.”

“The State simply informed the Court, “it just didn’t get done.” The Court took judicial notice of the fact that at any given time there are five grand juries sworn in, per term, and the state of Texas has hundred[s] of prosecutors and support staff.”

As of the time of publication, Sahil was still in custody in the Harris County Jail. 

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson told The Texan that the “District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the situation with the prosecutors handling the case.”

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare was elected last year after defeating incumbent Kim Ogg in the Democratic primary and now-Judge Dan Simons in the general election. Teare’s tenure had a rocky beginning after revelations that his law license had been suspended over a failure to pay administrative fees and required Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements. 

Teare has also faced public criticism after his office dropped felony charges against former Harris County Public Health Director Barbie Robinson. 

According to Niazi’s family, he was a war hero who lost both of his legs in combat, but had worked to assist Afghan immigrants adjust to life in Houston. He had also reportedly assisted Sahil prior to the murder. 

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza came under fire earlier this year for the release of several murder suspects after his office also failed to file indictments within 90 days of their arrests.