BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas – The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office said a former deputy was indicted in connection with the shooting death of Texas State University student John Gabriel Mendoza Jr.
In a statement obtained by KSAT, Brazoria County Sheriff Bo Stallman said Kevin Tippit was arrested and booked into the Brazoria County Detention Center based on the indictment.
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The Texas Rangers took Tippit into custody around 9 a.m. Tuesday, the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office told KPRC, KSAT’s sister station in Houston.
The sheriff said Tippit is charged with aggravated assault by a public servant, which is considered a first-degree felony.
According to Brazoria County jail records, Tippit was later released Tuesday on a $250,000 bond.
“There is no doubt this incident had devastating consequences,” Stallman said, in part. “I want our citizens to know we do our best to be, and to employ, individuals who care deeply for our community.”
Stallman announced in a YouTube video that Tippit was fired due to policy violations about a week after the shooting.
Shooting in Lake Jackson
In a previous statement to KSAT, the university identified the student as Mendoza Jr., 18. He was a freshman who studied management, the school said.
Deputies attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle just after midnight on June 1 near Farm-to-Market 2004 and This Way Street in Lake Jackson.
The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Mendoza, did not stop, deputies said. The deputies then chased after the vehicle for approximately a mile into a neighborhood located in the 100 block of Indian Warrior Trail.
According to the sheriff’s office, Mendoza went inside a home’s garage and parked before Tippit approached the vehicle.
Tippit then pulled out his firearm and allegedly shot into the vehicle. The sheriff’s office said the gunfire struck Mendoza.
Mendoza was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
“This indictment carries heavy emotion,” Stallman said. “John Jr. was a young man who was well-loved and had his whole life in front of him. He should be here with his family.”