FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – Fort Bend County Sheriff's deputies are searching for two suspects wanted in a home invasion and shooting in Pecan Grove.
Deputies were called to a home in the 1800 block of Cobblestone Court around 3 a.m. Tuesday.
According to investigators, Paul Germany, 56, was smoking a pipe in his garage at 2:15 a.m. when he was approached by a man with a gun wearing a black bandana over his face.
"He wanted him to get down on the floor of the garage, and instructions were he was going to take him into the house," Detective Jeff Martin with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said.
But Germany attempted to disarm the man. During the struggle, Germany was shot in the shoulder. Germany told investigators the suspect appeared to be startled by the blast and stepped back. As he did, Germany grabbed his own pistol and followed him out of the garage, where another masked man was waiting.
Martin said Germany fired twice at the suspects as they ran down the street.
According to neighbors, Germany said he had been receiving threatening phone calls recently, the caller claiming to be watching the house.
"He was telling me about these phone calls he been getting from some individual, random phone calls, threatening in nature," neighbor Don Hooper said. "So we were on the lookout."
Germany asked for increased police protection, and the sheriff's department beefed up patrols in the neighborhood from May 28 through June 4. They were discontinued at Germany's request according to Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office spokesman Bob Haenel.
Asked if the home invasion could be tied to the calls, Martin said the evidence doesn't point to that.
"Right now we don't have any info that this is a pointed attack," Martin said.
It's not the first time German has been shot. As a 19-year veteran with the Stafford Police Department, he accidentally shot himself during a training exercise in 2010.
While he was recuperating, the department discovered more than $14,000 in cash and other evidence was missing from the property room where Germany worked.
He was fired in 2011 and charged with theft by a public servant and abuse of office, both felony charges. But former officer Germany was acquitted on both charges by a jury in 2012.
Tuesday morning, Germany was rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital by helicopter, where he is currently listed in stable condition.
Police are searching for the two men who put him there.
The first suspect was described as 5-feet, 8-inches tall with a medium build. Besides the bandana, he was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. No description of the second suspect was available.
Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call the Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS (8477). Information which leads to the apprehension and filing of charges on the suspects involved could earn a cash reward. All calls to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.