A Texas man shot and killed a police service animal while evading arrest. Now, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
175th District Court Judge Catherine-Torres-Stahl handed Matthew Mireles three life terms in prison for the shooting death of Bexar County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Chucky. Mireles was found guilty and convicted of eight counts of aggravated assault of a public servant, interfering with a police service animal, and evading arrest.
On January 25th, 2019, officers were involved in a high-speed chase after Mireles in Karnes County at speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour. Later, the defendant abandoned his vehicle on Loop 1604 and headed towards a ranch. At first, authorities restrained breaching the ranch since Mireles had fired an earlier shot toward them.
"I kept hearing on the radio that this suspect was alternately pointing the gun at himself, pointing the gun at the chopper, pointing the gun at officers and of course, lasering, what we call lasering, passers-by," said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, reported News4SA.
Then, they sent in Chucky, who grabbed the defendant before he fatally fired on the dog. As a result, officers returned fire, striking Mireles.
According to KSAT, Mireles was a lieutenant in the Mexican Mafia and had two previous convictions. As a result, Torres-Stahl sentenced the defendant to the maximum on all three charges.
The 5-year-old Belgian Malinois was buried with full honors. Mireles will serve all three life terms concurrently.
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