Shiner man convicted of aggravated assault after Walmart incident

A Shiner man has been convicted of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon stemming from his involvement in a shooting incident that took place at Walmart in Gonzales on Veterans’ Day last year.

Bruce Evan Nicoletti Jr., 35, pleaded guilty before 2^nd 25^th Judicial Judge Jessica R. Crawford on Thursday, Aug. 31, and was sentenced to two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice — Institutional Division on one count (with 292 days credit for time served. One the second count, he was placed on 10 years deferred adjudication, fined $1,000 and ordererd to pay attorney’s fees and court costs after a pre-sentence investigation was waived.

The incident came from what Gonzales police were calling an ongoing feud. Lt. Jason Montoya of the Gonzales Police Department said at about 7:11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, GPD officers responded to Walmart regarding a call about shots fired. Upon arrival, officers made contact with a male complainant who said another man whose identity he knew pulled a firearm and pointed it at him, stating, “I am going to kill you.”

The complainant advised police he drew his weapon and fired at the subject, but at that time, it was not known whether anyone had been struck by a bullet.

GPD then received a call about a driver going the wrong way on Sarah DeWitt Drive. Officers were able to locate the described vehicle at Gonzales Healthcare Systems (Gonzales Memorial Hospital), where a male subject, later identified as Nicoletti, was found in the emergency room after suffering a gunshot wound. He was transported by ambulance to San Antonio Medical Center for treatment but did not have life-threatening injuries. No other injuries were reported. After surveillance video appeared to support the complainant and witnesses’ statements, Nicoletti was arrested two days later in Shiner.

The investigation was jointly worked by the Gonzales Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers and two firearms were seized as part of the investigation — one from the complainant and one from Nicoletti.