LA JOYA, Texas — Police officers from this border city were forced to shoot at a car thief who was trying to drive a stolen car into Mexico and rammed police vehicles in an effort to flee.
The shooting took place Monday afternoon near the historic Los Ebanos International Ferry where a La Joya Police officer spotted a vehicle that had been previously reported stolen, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) revealed.
The stolen vehicle was headed to the Los Ebanos International Ferry, which is the nearest crossing point into Mexico in that area. The hand-powered ferry provides access to the Mexican border community of Diaz Ordaz in Tamaulipas.
When the police officer tried to block the path of the stolen car, the driver rammed the patrol car prompting the officer to shoot at him, the information provided by the sheriff’s office revealed.
Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection assisted the La Joya police officer in arresting the suspect who is expected to face three charges in connection with the chase. La Joya had HCSO take over the investigation into the case and the officer involved shooting.
The suspected car thief will be charged with one count of aggravated assault on a peace officer and two counts of resisting arrest. In addition to those charges, the man is also facing other charges from various local police departments including attempted murder, assault on a peace officer and theft of motor vehicle.
La Joya is the same border city where as Breitbart Texas reported in 2014 a Gulf Cartel linked gunman and fugitive barricaded himself and had a three-hour firefight with law enforcement injuring two police officers before being neutralized.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.