Deputy fires on driver in alleged stolen vehicle after brief chase, suspect hospitalized

SAN ANTONIO – A suspect with a lengthy criminal history has been hospitalized, and a deputy has been placed on leave after a brief chase turned to gunfire.

Around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, 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.

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 indicated that he was out with one indicating that the vehicle was it seemed to be coming to a stop as the deputy exited his patrol vehicle and began running toward the back of it, and then around the opposite side, the vehicle appeared to be coming back toward him,” said Sheriff Salazar.

The deputy opened fire on the driver, striking the 31-year-old male three to four times. 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.

The suspect, whom Sheriff Salazar says has a lengthy criminal history and has been convicted of sex crimes involving children, has been hospitalized for his non-life-threatening injuries.

“From what I can see, he’s a registered sex offender,” said Sheriff Salazar. “He does have a history of aggravated sexual assault of a child, I believe, and then some drug offenses as well. He also had some outstanding warrants for his arrest.”

Sheriff Salazar says that the deputy has been placed on administrative leave while an internal investigation takes place, but says it’s too early to tell if the deputy’s actions were justified.

“At this point, it’s too early to tell justifications. You know, we’ve got to hear, hear what the, what the deputy side of the story is so it’s it’s too early to say whether it was or was not,” said Sheriff Salazar. “What I can tell you is the suspect does have a lengthy criminal history.”

The investigation is ongoing.