Suspect ID'd, charges filed in officer-involved shooting, cross-county pursuit
Lubbock police on Friday identified the man suspected of leading multiple law-enforcement agencies on a cross-county pursuit in a stolen vehicle after being shot by police Thursday afternoon.
Jeffrey Enriquez Jr., 34, is charged with aggravated assault against a public servant in connection with the event. Officials served the arrest warrant Friday morning following an investigation by the Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit.
At 2:16 p.m. Thursday, the Lubbock Police Department was notified of a reported theft at a hardware store near 50th Street and University Avenue, according to a news release issued Friday. Police said the theft victim used her phone's tracking service, which led officers to a gas station in the 100 block of East Main Street in New Deal, about 17 miles north of the store.
Detectives with the department's crime suppression unit arrived at the gas station in separate unmarked police trucks and found the vehicle Enriquez was driving, a white Mustang convertible, parked by the gas pumps, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The detectives were in plain clothes but wore bulletproof vests that identified them as police officers, according to the affidavit.
The detectives boxed in the Mustang and activated their emergency lights before attempting to detain Enriquez, the affidavit states.
One of the detectives approached the Mustang's driver and sole occupant from behind and ordered him to get out. The driver, identified as Enriquez, refused and reversed the Mustang, which knocked the detective into the fuel pumps and also struck the police truck.
Enriquez then reportedly drove the vehicle toward the other detective, who fired his service pistol at the suspect.
Enriquez sped off, leading multiple law enforcement agencies on what police called a "lengthy pursuit" that ended in a crash just over an hour later. Officials found Enriquez and the crashed vehicle in a field miles from where the chase began, near FM 784 and FM 789 north of Petersburg, the release stated.
When officers took Enriquez into custody, they determined he had been shot and was seriously injured. Enriquez was airlifted from the scene to University Medical Center in Lubbock.
Police later determined the vehicle Enriquez drove was stolen out of Amarillo, the release stated.
Enriquez remained held at the Lubbock County Detention Center Friday afternoon.
Lubbock police said the officer who fired the shots, a 20-year law-enforcement veteran, was placed on administrative leave, a standard practice after an officer-involved shooting.
LPD's Office of Professional Standards is investigating the officer-involved shooting in conjunction with the Metro unit's investigation, police said. The LPD Major Crash Unit, Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Rangers are also investigating.
The Lubbock Police Department, New Deal Police Department, Petersburg Police Department, Abernathy Police Department, Hale County Sheriff’s Office, Hale Center Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Plainview Police Department were all involved in the pursuit, LPD said.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Suspect ID'd in Lubbock theft, officer-involved shooting, high-speed chase
