SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) has released the name of a deputy who allegedly shot at a suspect during a vehicle pursuit in Southeast Bexar County.
BCSO identified the deputy involved as Deputy Angel Ornelas III in a statement on Monday evening. According to that statement, Deputy Ornelas was hired on with the sheriff’s office on Dec. 21, 2023 and began patrolling on Jan. 22 of last year.
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According to the sheriff’s office, around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, a sheriff’s deputy got a hit from his automated license plate reader, indicating that a car that had been reported stolen had passed them.
With around one year on the force, the deputy attempted to initiate a stop of the vehicle. That vehicle, a newer model maroon BMW convertible, fled from the deputy at his speed.
The high-speed pursuit lasted one to two minutes before the BMW stopped on a dead-end road at the 7600 Block of Dove Drive, in a residential neighborhood.
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Upon the vehicle stopping, the deputy got out of their vehicle and attempted to make contact when the driver, when the deputy says the suspect vehicle came back at them.
The deputy opened fire on the driver, striking the 31-year-old male three to four times. The suspect, identified Joshua Ryan Garcia, 34, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A woman who was the passenger in the vehicle was found with minor injuries resulting from the vehicle crashing out after the deputy opened fire.
Deputy Ornelas has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, as is standard protocol when it comes to officer involved shootings, BCSO said.