Suspect arrested after shootout with Lubbock police facing more charges

A 41-year-old Petersburg man wounded earlier this month during a shootout with police in South Lubbock after a vehicle pursuit is facing more charges from his  alleged crime spree.

Lubbock police officials announced on Thursday that a warrant was served to Jerome Garcia charging him with two counts of aggravated assault against a public servant, a first-degree felony that carries a punishment of five years to life in prison. 

Garcia has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since July 6 on a charge of aggravated assault by threat with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison. 

His charges stem from a July 5 crime spree that began when police responded to a shots fired call at a gas station in the 3700 block of Avenue Q, according to an arrest warrant. 

A dispatcher reported hearing gunshots while on the phone with the reporting party, officials said. 

A man told responding officers that he and his mother were threatened by another man armed with a shotgun. 

The warrant states the man told investigators he and his mother went to the gas station after he and the armed man argued at another location.

However, the man said that the person he argued with followed them to the gas station and threatened him with the shotgun, firing once in the air, striking an awning, before leveling the weapon at him. 

Responding officers encountered the suspected gunman as he drove away from the gas station, and officers attempted a traffic stop.

However, the suspect drove away and the officers gave chase. Police said the officers broke off their pursuit because there were no injuries since the shots were fired in the air.  

However, while continuing their investigation at the gas station, the suspect returned to the scene, honked his horn at the officers and drove away, starting another pursuit. 

The vehicle pursuit traveled along I-27 and 98th Street and ended near the intersection of 121st Street and Kenosha Avenue where an officer rammed his vehicle into the suspect's vehicle at low speed.

As an officer approached the stopped vehicle, the gunman aimed a shotgun at him. The officer fired at the gunman, striking him. However, the gunman managed to fire twice through his vehicle's windshield, striking a Lubbock police patrol vehicle. 

None of the officers were injured by gunfire. 

The officers gave first aid to the gunman, later identified as Garcia, at the scene until EMS arrived and he was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center.

Garcia remains held at the detention center. His bond on the first aggravated assault charge is set at $300,000. The second warrant recommends another $300,000 bond.