Pursuit ends in drug arrest; couple had baby in car

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A San Antonio couple traveling north through La Salle County landed behind bars after being found in possession of a felony quantity of marijuana and on charges related to child endangerment.

According to officers who pursued the vehicle north from Milemarker 56 shortly after midnight Sunday morning, March 5, The couple was traveling with an infant and tried to evade a routine traffic stop by the Texas Highway Patrol.

At the wheel of the white 2009 Honda Accord sedan, 20-year-old Jazlen Tovar reportedly sped from state troopers but was brought to a halt after tire-deflating spikes were deployed on the interstate by La Salle County Sheriff’s Deputy Glenn Harlow.

The deputy reported later that he had deployed the spikes to stop the car “before it reached Cotulla.”

Tovar was accompanied in the vehicle by 21-year-old Rodolfo Genaro Badillo and the small child whose identity is being withheld by investigators. The sheriff’s office has yet to announce whether the infant is either Tovar’s or Badillo’s child.

Deputy Harlow reported that the car contained several bags of marijuana that appeared to have been packaged for individual sale.

Tovar was remanded into custody on a felony charge of evading arrest with a vehicle, felony drug possession, and on a charge of endangering a child. Badillo was jailed on the same drug and child endangerment charges.

As both adults were being held in the La Salle County Jail early on a Sunday, sheriff’s deputies reportedly took care of the child at their offices in the La Salle County Courthouse until an adult relative was able to travel to Cotulla and assume custody of the youngster. Officers reported that they provided the child with snacks, refreshments, and cartoons to watch.

The car has been impounded as evidence in the case by the sheriff’s office.