Officer on administrative leave after apparent aggravated assault
WAXAHACHIE (CBSNewsTexas.com) - The Ellis County Sheriff's Office has placed a deputy on administrative leave while it investigates an apparent aggravated assault.
The Navarro County Sheriff's Office reached out to Ellis County around 1:00 p.m. Friday, saying a Rice Police Officer was involved in an aggravated assault on a resident.
According to Navarro County, the Ellis County deputy was in a marked patrol vehicle. The deputy said he saw the driver run a stop sign and then stopped on the side of the road. Around 1:12 p.m., the deputy broadcasted that he had fired his gun after being "rammed" by the tow truck into his patrol vehicle, which is now inoperable. The deputy also said the truck driver fled the scene, traveling north onto HWY 287.
In a press release, Ellis County said "as a result of the tow truck driver's actions and our deputy discharging his weapon, our deputy has been put on administrative leave per departmental policy pending the internal investigation of the shooting."
The Texas Department of Public Safety (Highway Patrol - Trooper) saw the tow truck lose control and roll from the service road to a field in Ennis. The driver then took off on foot, running to a woodline area towards Bardwell Lake. He wasn't found until almost 7:30 p.m. by the Texas Department of Corrections K9/Mounted Unit out of Tennessee Colony (Beto Unit).
The driver, now identified as 24-year-old Lorenzo Marquez Jr., was taken into custody. He had injuries from the initial crash into the officer's patrol vehicle, but not from the deputy firing his gun. Marquez Jr. was wanted on a probation violation for burglary by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office.
