SAPD officer shot in head clings to life

SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Police Officer Robert Deckard did not have to work the shift that left him in the hospital Sunday, fighting for his life with a bullet lodged in his brain.

“Someone asked him to fill in for them so that they could take off, and being the good guy that he is, he filled in for them,” Chief William McManus said Sunday afternoon, hours after Deckard suffered the wound during a high-speed chase with armed-robbery suspects. Doctors treating Deckard, 31, at San Antonio Military Medical Center were not optimistic that he would survive, McManus said. They were unable to remove the bullet, which traveled through Deckard's forehead, officials said.

“The prognosis has not gotten any better,” McManus said.

Shawn Ruiz Puente, 32, and Jeneieve Ramos, 28, were taken into custody in Wilson County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. It was not known which suspect is alleged to have fired the shot that hit Deckard, who has been with the department for seven years.

Law enforcement personnel investigate a car on U.S. 181 near Poth believed to be used in a chase in which SAPD Officer Robert Deckard was shot in the head. He had been pursuing armed-robbery suspects from San Antonio into Atascosa County. less Law enforcement personnel investigate a car on U.S. 181 near Poth believed to be used in a chase in which SAPD Officer Robert Deckard was shot in the head. He had been pursuing armed-robbery suspects from San ... more Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close SAPD officer shot in head clings to life 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

The two were suspected of committing a string of 15 armed robberies in recent days, with six alone Saturday night and early Sunday. Officials had put out a description of the suspects' vehicle: black with a white stripe. About 2 a.m. Sunday, Deckard spotted the car in the 4000 block of Roosevelt Avenue and started chasing it, officials said.

Normally assigned to the department's North Substation, Deckard was on the opposite side of San Antonio because he was filling in for an officer there.

The suspects fled south on Interstate 37, and Deckard pursued them into Atascosa County. It was there that the suspects started firing from their moving car, hitting Deckard once and causing him to crash, officials said.

The suspects continued their flight into Wilson County. They abandoned their car north of Poth and ran into the woods, where a San Antonio police dog eventually found them about 8 a.m., officials said.

The suspects are expected to be officially charged Monday and will likely face charges of attempted capital murder and aggravated robbery, police said. If Deckard dies, they will be charged with capital murder, which carries a sentence of either life in prison without parole or execution.

Their relationship and what kind of gun they had were not known Sunday.

Officers from the DPS, Wilson County Sheriff's Office, Atascosa County Sheriff's Office, Texas Rangers and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department were involved with the chase, which at times exceeded 100 mph. The suspects shot at a Poth police officer, who returned fire, but no injuries other than Deckard's were reported, officials said.

The San Antonio police helicopter also tracked the suspects as they fled.

McManus said Deckard's high-speed pursuit of the suspects outside of the city met department policy because they were accused of committing numerous violent felonies.

Deckard is married and has at least one child, police said. His family gathered at the hospital Sunday.

“It's always a kick in the gut when this happens,” McManus said. “It's bad anytime, but of course for the families, it's even worse around the holidays.”

Sgt. Marcial Luevano, who works in the North Substation, where Deckard is normally assigned, described him as an “excellent officer, somebody I'd want to have cover for me.”

“All our prayers are with the family and him right now,” Luevano said. “Everybody is pretty upset about it.”

Records show that suspect Puente was sentenced to 45 days in jail in 2001 after pleading no contest to evading arrest and to 90 days in jail in 2010 in Waco after pleading guilty to a charge of resisting arrest.

He also was arrested locally in 1998 on a charge of DWI-open container and given probation. Other Bexar County cases, all of which were later dismissed by prosecutors, include two charges of assault-bodily injury of a family member in 2010, an arrest on violation of a bond or protective order in December 2011 and three new charges on Jan. 8, 2012: violating a bond or protective order, criminal mischief and evading arrest.

DPS said suspect Ramos' first name was spelled Jeneieve, but a Jenevieve Ramos from San Antonio with the same date of birth was charged with assault after a 2004 incident, according to records. The charges were dismissed in 2005 after she completed deferred adjudication probation.

Deckard's reputation as an officer has been hailed by colleagues as well as residents. A Facebook user identified as Maurice Nash posted a compliment on the Police Department's Facebook page Tuesday — five days before Deckard was shot.

“Totally got some unexpected help from an Officer Deckard ... today, that was completely beyond what I expected!” the post said. “His professionalism, care for community and curbside manner was absolutely stellar.”

djoseph@express-news.net

Staff Writer Abe Levy contributed to this report.