Jose Pantoja-Morales Indicted in Dallas Officer Shooting, Facing 15 Years on Firearms Charge
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 24
Jose Pantoja-Morales Indicted in Dallas Officer Shooting, Facing 15 Years on Firearms Charge
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 24
Summary
A federal grand jury indicted Jose Santiago Pantoja-Morales, 27, on Sept. 16 for possessing a firearm while in the U.S. illegally after prosecutors say he shot a Dallas ISD police officer on Aug. 6.
Prosecutors say the officer had stopped to help Pantoja-Morales near Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, offered him a ride, then pulled over after he began rummaging through the officer’s bag in the back seat.
During the ensuing struggle, Pantoja-Morales allegedly grabbed the officer’s gun and fired once, hitting the officer in the femoral artery of his right leg before fleeing; law enforcement quickly arrested him.
The wounded officer regained control of the weapon, received treatment from another DISD officer at the scene and was then taken to Parkland Hospital.
Pantoja-Morales is awaiting transfer to federal custody under a habeas writ, and the charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.