SAN ANTONIO — A man accused of shooting and killing a Bexar County Sheriff's Office K-9 and shooting towards officers spent Wednesday morning in court.
Matthew Reyes Mireles clutched a cane during his hearing in the 175th Criminal District Court. He faces several charges after taking officers on a chase through three counties earlier this year.
"Today is just a pretrial conference where we talk about the discovery (evidence), the investigation, if there is any plea bargain negotiations or if there is any outstanding matters," said Mireles’s attorney, Robert Gebbia.
Mireles is accused of shooting and killing 5-year-old Chucky who deputies deployed to take Mireles down to end a chase off Highway 1604 and Highway 151. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Mireles shot the dog multiple times.
Chucky did not have a vest on when he went after Mireles.
Mireles also faces eight counts of aggravated assault of a police officer for allegedly pointing his gun and firing towards officers.
"Right now what the evidence shows is that there was a little bit of hyper-aggressiveness on the side of Bexar County," Gebbia said.
Officers shot Mireles several times in the lower extremities. Gebbia says Mireles can't feel one side of his body and has trouble remembering the chase—which he streamed on Facebook Live.
“He was in the midst of a very significant mental health episode," Gebbia said.
This isn't Mireles's first run-in with authorities; the suspect has a long rap sheet.
"Right now, based on his criminal history and based on the charges, he's looking at a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of life in prison," Gebbia said.
KENS 5 reached out to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, but they did not comment on the case. Chucky’s necropsy report, meanwhile, has not been released.
In the meantime, the judge scheduled another court hearing.
Gebbia says Mireles is willing to accept a plea offer he thinks it's fair, but he says that, based off his experience, they will likely go to trial in the next spring.
Gebbia said he hopes the case can help improve protocols for people who have significant mental health issues.