Nearly two weeks before a gunman hijacked a Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus and died in a shootout with police officers, San Antonio police sought to question him in connection with his girlfriend’s death.
Garland and DART police identified Ramon Thomas Villagomez, 31, as the man who commandeered a bus on Sunday in North Texas and led authorities on a chase before he was stopped with spike strips. Villagomez injured a DART officer and a Garland officer before law enforcement returned fire, killing the suspect.
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Suspect who hijacked Dallas bus was wanted in San Antonio and Brazoria County, police say
San Antonio police confirmed that Villagomez was sought in connection with the death of his girlfriend Catherine Menendez, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Menendez, 41, was found dead on April 7 when police were called to do a welfare check in the 14000 block of Hereford. Her friend called police because she hadn’t heard from Menendez in several days.
Woman found dead in Northeast Side home identified
When police entered the home, they noticed blood on the floor, according to the police report. Officers followed the blood trail into the bedroom, where they found Menendez covered in a blood-soaked bed sheet. Menendez died of multiple sharp force injuries, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Menendez’s friend told police she suspected Villagomez was involved in her death. The two had recently got back together, according to the police report.
The friend told police she knew Villagomez to be “a very violent, aggressive person who almost killed (Menendez) on a previous reported family violence assault."
Officers could not locate Villagomez or Menendez’s car at the scene. He was never arrested in connection with the case.
Villagomez was also wanted for an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge in Brazoria County, police confirmed.