Waelder man free after four years in jail for 2019 incident

A Waelder man who was accused of firing shots at deputies during a September 2019 pursuit was sentenced last month to four years in prison with time served, effectively leading to his immediate release.

Jose Manuel Ruiz, 44, plead guilty to aggravated assault of a public servant and was sentenced by 25^th District Judge William Old III to four years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice — Institutional Division with credit for 1,462 days of time served in the Gonzales County Jail, which works out to almost exactly four years incarceration.

Charges of driving while intoxicated and evading arrest with a vehicle against Ruiz were meanwhile dismissed by Old as part of the plea agreement the judge accepted on Ruiz’ behalf during a Sept. 20 hearing at the Gonzales County Courthouse.

Exactly four years prior to the hearing date — on Sept. 20, 2019, at about 1 a.m., Gonzales County deputies were attempting to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle with an equipment violation at mile marker 645 on Interstate 10. However, before the deputies could make contact with the driver, later identified as Ruiz, he drove off and a pursuit was initiated.

During the pursuit, Ruiz reportedly fired several shots at the deputies’ vehicles before exiting the interstate onto a county road, crashing into a tree and fleeing the scene on foot. Deputies pursued Ruiz to a residence on South Avenue A and South First Street in Waelder, where he was observed exiting the vehicle with two handguns before entering the residence

Law enforcement created a perimeter around the property and residents nearby had to be evacuated for their own safety. While barricaded in the house, Ruiz fired numerous shots directed at deputies during the standoff and was observed with a weapon in hand in the doorway of the residence.

Texas Department of Public Safety Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiation Team deployed officers to the scene to convince Ruiz to surrender. About four hours later, he exited the residence and was taken into custody without further incident. Fortunately, no officers were harmed during the incident.

Ruiz was initially charged with attempted capital member of a peace officer, but that charge was later lowered to aggravated assault of a peace officer. He remained in the Gonzales County Jail in lieu of $1,040,000 total bond set by Judge Pat Davis until he pleaded guilty this year.