HOUSTON – A sergeant who has been with the Houston Police Department for 30 years shot Lonnie David Giles, 30, after Giles tried to run him over with a stolen truck at 6700 Joyner St. around 4:30 p.m. on May 24.
Giles has been charged with aggravated assault of a public servant.
Giles sustained gunshot wounds and was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital to be treated.
Surveillance video, exclusively obtained by Channel 2 news, shows the suspects put the truck in reverse and ram into Sgt. D. Vega’s Nissan Altima. Vega was in his personal car because he was on his way home from work when the incident happened.
Investigators said Vega investigating reports of a stolen truck (a brown 2004 GMC Sierra pickup truck from Pasadena) when he spotted Giles in the stolen vehicle. He followed the truck until Giles abandoned the vehicle and got in a green Dodge pickup driven by a second suspect. Vega followed the truck until it reached the intersection of 5700 Corl and Joyner. As the vehicle attempted to turn westbound onto Joyner, the vehicle crashed. Vega pulled his vehicle behind the the Dodge and blocked it in.
The driver got out of the truck and ran, while Giles slid into the driver's seat of the pickup, put the vehicle in reverse and accelerated at a high rate of speed toward Sergeant Vega and his vehicle.
At this time, Vega fired several shots at the vehicle. The truck struck the driver's side door of Vega's vehicle and pinned him inside his vehicle, injuring his hand. Giles then fled in the vehicle southbound on Corl Street.
Vega suffered injuries to his right hand and was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital for treatment.
Giles was later located in the 600 block of Main Street in Pasadena and was taken into custody by police. He was found to have sustained several gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital. The second suspect was taken into custody a few blocks from the shooting scene. He was questioned and released with no charges filed.
Witnesses who were working nearby saw the commotion.
“Like eight gunshots were heard,” said Christian Garcia. “Everybody stopped working and we went to look.”
Several gunshots were fired at the truck but the driver got away. It’s unclear if he was hit.
“He fired several shots at the pickup,” Senties said. “It’s unknown if the suspect was hit. The vehicle then fled.”
Another suspect was arrested at the scene, he was taken downtown for questioning and will likely face charges.
A third man was questioned and released after police learned he was not involved.
The truck was recovered in the 6100 block of Edinburg, about a mile away.
The shooting remains under investigation.