Indictments issued in alleged attack on Hunt County deputies during 2021 chase into Rockwall
May 26—A Garland man has been indicted on multiple charges in connection with an alleged 2021 robbery and police chase between Caddo Mills and Rockwall.
Fernando Calderon previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft count and received a jail sentence involving the incident which reportedly involved a hold-up of an Amazon delivery driver and the chase that ended in a crash on the Lake Ray Hubbard bridge.
Calderon, 29, was charged by the Hunt County Attorney's Office on Nov. 23, 2022 with one count of theft of property of the value of more than $750 and less than $2,500, a Class A misdemeanor. The complaint indicated the theft occurred on Aug. 5, 2021.
Calderon entered a guilty plea to the charge during an April 13 hearing in the Hunt County Court at Law No. 2. Judge Timothy Linden accepted the plea and sentenced Calderon to five months in the Hunt County Detention Center, with three months and five days credit for time served.
Calderon was indicted Friday by the Hunt County grand jury on two counts of aggravated assault against a public servant and one count of evading arrest — all related to the events of Aug. 5, 2021. He is currently free on bond after serving his sentence on the theft charge. A date for arraignment hearings had not been immediately scheduled with the 196th District Court.
According to a report from the Hunt County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the 3100 block of FM 36 in Caddo Mills in reference to a robbery of an Amazon driver. While a deputy was taking the robbery report from the driver, officers were dispatched to a disturbance in the 6000 block of FM 36.
Calderon allegedly had fled prior to officers arriving at the scene, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Officers received information that Calderon was northbound on FM 36, heading toward Interstate 30 in a silver minivan and observed the vehicle traveling north on FM 36 near FM 1564 west, reports indicate.
The deputies attempted to stop the vehicle, which then accelerated and fled from the officers. Officers pursued the vehicle onto Interstate 30 westbound at speeds in excess of 100 mph.
As the officers attempted to spike the minivan's tires, the driver intentionally veered into the ditch toward the officers who were standing outside their patrol vehicles, authorities allege. Calderon narrowly missed hitting the officers and their vehicles as he traveled out of the ditch back onto the roadway.
The pursuit continued through Royse City and Rockwall and came to an end on I-30 near Dalrock Road after the minivan smashed into a guardrail. Items from the alleged Amazon robbery were recovered from the minivan.
It was determined that Calderon, the driver and only occupant of the minivan, was the suspect in the robbery. Investigators from the Hunt County Sheriff's Office recovered the items and returned them to the rightful owners.