Stand off ends with man in jail, child safely recovered

Jun. 18—A chase from Duncan through parts of the county and a two-and-a-half hour standoff involving an infant this week has resulted in one man going to the Stephens County Jail.

According to On Demand Court Records, Redolfo Ruben Segovia, 29, of Joshua Texas, now faces charges of child neglect after two or more felony convictions, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after two or more felony convictions, endangering others while eluding after two or more felony convictions and driving with a suspended license.

Sheriff Wayne McKinney said the incident ended the best way it could have — with Segovia and the child safe, though Segovia now sits in county jail on a $500,000 bond.

Affidavits from the event show the incident took place on June 14. Originally, Duncan Police received contact asking for a welfare check on the nine-month-old child. As a result, DPD issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) for a Tahoe.

"One of our deputies located the vehicle at Oliver and Old 81," McKinney said. "It was sitting at the shoulder of the road with its hood up. The deputy pulls up behind him. The guy was standing at the front of the car, baby evidently was inside, we didn't know for sure at that time if the kid was okay. The guy slams the hood, runs and jumps in the car and takes off."

As the day proceeded, law enforcement with Stephens County Sheriff's Department put eyes on the vehicle again and attempted to stop it, but Segovia allegedly backed his vehicle into the patrol unit before once again fleeing the scene, this time heading southbound on Old Highway 81.

"Obviously our biggest concern was the way he was driving if there was a child in there because of the endangerment to the child," McKinney said.

Later in the evening, the same deputy located the vehicle, which was crashed at County Road 1820 and County Road 2800.

When the deputy again started the traffic stop and attempted a welfare check on the baby, the driver then turned southbound on Old Highway 81 before coming to a hard stop and reversing his vehicle to ram it into the patrol car, reports show.

Lawmen noted in the report Segovia turned off his vehicle's lights but continued speeding. He eventually passed Paul Road traveling toward Comanche.

Affidavits show Segovia drove the wrong way down an exit ramp from Highway 81 to County Road 2820. Then, Segovia headed westbound onto Dr. Pepper Road, still with no headlights on, and passed another car in a no passing zone. The driver, reports show, ran a stop sign at Dr. Pepper and Sears.

As deputies approached Dr. Pepper and 42nd Street, they observed the vehicle crashed and it appeared to have gone through a fence.

"He lost control of it, went through a fence and into a field," McKinney said. "The deputy accelerates to get up there and check on the welfare of them, if there were any injuries. At that time, another deputy gets there. That's where the situation started."

Reports show Segovia allegedly left the vehicle, took the child with him and began yelling and screaming at deputies. The child appeared to be okay at this time.

Segovia then allegedly told authorities he had a knife with him and he was "not afraid to use it .. or to stab himself," an affidavit shows. The affidavit also shows he kept asking lawmen to shoot him while he was holding the baby.

"He kept taunting all the deputies at the scene," McKinney said.

While he continued walking around the field and allegedly refused to let authorities check the child, lawmen entered into negotiations with Segovia, who asked for his phone. Upon attempting to get his phone from the car, lawmen also found the knife and threw it away from the scene to get it away from Segovia. It was later recovered.

"We talked to him for two-and-a-half hours to wear him down," McKinney said. "He never at any time made any kind of aggressive moves toward that child, in fact he was hugging it, but you still worry he could snap the way he would go up and go down. He would calm down and then he was back to cussing everyone at the scene."

Negotiations continued for two-and-a-half hours before Segovia eventually turned himself and the child over.

The child received transport to Duncan's hospital for a medical look over and Segovia received attention from medical personnel but refused treatment.

"We were able to get the child back to the mother," McKinney said. "The child checked out okay ... We were all very concerned because there were several things there that concerned us. The corner lot or pasture he was in, the fence was torn down where he ran through it. We did breach the other fence down the north side where we could get access to it ... but right behind that was a pond. That was our main concern."

McKinney said he's proud of the work his deputies did and how it was resolved.

"Our whole thing was to get that child back without injury and without having to injure or do something worse to the guy," McKinney said. "We were prepared, but it worked out fine, and I'm proud of all the guys. We all, Rick and myself and Bill Perkins were all very proud of the work they did. They set up the perimeter and we weren't going to let him get away. It worked out fine."

Notes from the affidavit show the car seat in the vehicle wasn't rear-facing or the right size for the infant, but rather for a toddler.

When interviewed by police, Segovia told them he didn't see a reason to talk to them, but said "I messed up. I should have never done what I did. I (expletive) up when I ran into the cop car."

Booked on a $500,000 bond, Segovia is due in court for a preliminary hearing conference at 9 a.m. Aug. 17.