SAN ANTONIO — Less than a week after being on the receiving end of gunfire from a wanted felon they were pursuing on the west side, two San Antonio police officers testified about the events of August 24 in the same room as the alleged shooter.
Jesse Garcia, who is accused of shooting and injuring two officers before an evening standoff ended in his arrest, walked into the courtroom wearing shackles and a smirk on Wednesday. He left with his $4.25 million bond revoked by Judge Joel Perez of the 437th District Court, meaning Garcia will remain jailed until his trial.
But San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) Officers Adam Rule and Josue Vallejo-Martinez first shared their accounts of the chase.
Rule described how he and his partner, Officer Rhett Shoquist, were there when police were set to take Garcia into custody on multiple warrants after setting up surveillance in the area. At one point Garcia interrupted Rule's testimony, saying the car SWAT officers were in wasn't a marked unit.
Then Rule described the initial gunfire, after Garcia allegedly fled to avoid being apprehended.
"As I was on the radio, I saw the back window of the black Mitsubishi pop out. I heard rounds skipping off the ground, and they were striking the undercarriage of our patrol vehicle," Rule said. "It was pretty loud. Somewhere between six and eight rounds."
Shoquist was shot in the initial burst of gunfire. Rule was also hurt, testifying that during the shootout "the window blew out, glass blew towards my forearm, the round sheared in half and got stuck in my forearm."
Rule's pursuit was terminated so he could prioritize helping his partner.
"Officers Shoquist had been struck?" Bexar County prosecutor Neal Cordero asked.
"Yes sir," Rule replied. "I had to offer him medical aid immediately or he would have died."
Meanwhile, SAPD continued to chase Garcia as he fled further west, eventually arriving at the Westwood Plaza Apartments eight miles away. There, Vallejo-Martinez and other officers initiated a standoff, but not before authorities said Garcia shot at them. Officer Raul Chavez was hit multiple times, and had to be hospitalized.
"Did you see other officers shot?" Cordero asked Vallejo-Martinez on Wednesday afternoon.
"Officer Chavez, correct," Vallejo-Martinez responded.
Asked if he could identify the person who they were pursuing on August 24, Vallejo-Martinez pointed at Garcia. He also testified Garcia was armed with an AR-15.
After listening from both witnesses, Perez delivered his decision: Garcia would remain behind bars without the possibility of being released on bail. He had been previously released four times, but Perez said he violated his conditions of released.
"The defendant violated the conditions of release in particular to the safety of the community," the judge said.
Garcia's attorneys argued the charges weren't capital offenses, but the judge wasn't swayed from his position.
A pre-trial hearing has been set for Sept. 26.
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