“I opened the door and he took a swing at me and called me some names,” said Garcia.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Roy Garcia has seen a lot of things over 20 years in auto repair, but nothing like what happened on his lot this week. Garcia, owner of C&A Auto Repair, arrived late Tuesday night to reports of someone pulling the handles on all his cars trying to get in.
“He was just screaming and yelling and then he started walking this way while I was calling the cops,” said Garcia.
Police reports WFAA obtained identify the suspect as 33-year-old Frank Pierce. Roy Garcia tells WFAA Pierce took a gray colored Benz for a joy ride and then attempted to break into a white BMW on the same auto repair lot. Garcia still doesn’t know how but he says the suspect managed to then take off in a Range Rover that was just fixed.
“I opened the door and he took a swing at me and called me some names,” said Garcia. “He backed up real slow and hit those cars right there. But, he was completely out of it,” he said.
A press release from the Fort Worth Police Department indicates the suspect, who is unnamed in the report, led officers on a chase. Officers deployed spike strips that resulted in flat tires. The vehicle slammed into a low retaining wall at the intersection of Northwest 28th Street and Chestnut Avenue.
“The suspect vehicle attempted to back away from the retaining wall to continue to evade officers. An officer in a marked police unit pulled in behind the suspect vehicle to assist in discontinuing the pursuit,” read the press release.
“He took off fast and he turned right and didn’t even turn the headlights on and that’s why they stopped him,” said Garcia.
According to police, officers gave loud commands and the suspect did not respond to those commands.
“Officers began to break out the back window to get a better view into the stolen vehicle and the suspect. An Officer who was covering the driver’s side of the stolen vehicle fired a single round striking the suspect. The suspect was removed from the stolen vehicle and officers began providing medical aid. The suspect was transported to a local hospital for treatment and is currently in stable condition,” read the press release.
WFAA has requested further comment on the matter. Many details of the incident remain unclear. What prompted the officer to shoot? Was the suspect armed? Was the officer who fired their weapon placed on leave? Is their an internal investigation? Police say there will be more information in the coming days.
Pierce faces charges of burglary and evading arrest.