Christmas Eve gunman charged

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ORTIZ IN CUSTODY AFTER DERBY BURGLARY

Police are confirming this week that 36-year-old Joe Ortiz is the suspect who was wanted in connection with a Christmas Eve shooting at a Pearsall home that left a man with a gunshot wound to the face.

Pearsall police say the emergency dispatch notified officers on Christmas Eve that a man had been taken to Frio Regional Hospital for an ‘accidental shooting.’

During the initial interview, the victim alleged he had been shot in the face by a child but soon became uncooperative with investigating officers, the report indicated.

The victim was later transported to University Hospital in San Antonio to receive further medical treatment for his injuries.

It was during a follow-up interview with the victim that officers learned Ortiz had been the one to pull the trigger.

Ortiz, who is behind bars on a rake of charges related to other Christmas Eve crimes, naw faces a first-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

After shooting the victim, Ortiz was found trespassing in a residence in Derby, where he was allegedly taking a shower when homeowners discovered him.

Frio County deputies responded to the call for a burglary in progress and found that the homeowners had wrestled the naked man to the ground.

At the time, Ortiz claimed he was Francisco Solis of Dilley, was combative, under the influence of narcotics, and used obscene language towards the homeowners and deputies, according to the officers’ report.

During the incident, deputies were unaware that he was wanted in connection with the prior shooting.

The shooting allegedly occurred at a house on Power Plant Road, two blocks away from the elementary school in Pearsall. Officers have received five calls for shootings at that location since November 20.

According to records filed at the department, two of those calls involved mishandling of weapons and not securing a firearm.

“A gun is not a toy,” a representative from the department said earlier this week. “Treating one like a toy can have a major impact on everyone’s life. We ask that if you own a gun you please make time to take a class and get the proper training for handling a weapon.”

The department continues to offer free gunlocks.

In a case that developed at the same residence last year, law enforcement officers from across the region conducted a three-hour standoff at the home on August 8 after a tenant called the emergency dispatch regarding an alleged shooting. It was after making entry into the home that officers learned the suspected gunman was not in the building. Frio County deputies later found the man walking along Business IH-35.