A Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally has been indicted on a federal firearms charge after allegedly grabbing a Dallas school police officer’s gun and shooting him during a roadside struggle in August, according to the Justice Department.
Jose Santiago Pantoja-Morales, 27, is accused of shooting a uniformed Dallas Independent School District police officer on Aug. 6 after the officer stopped to help him near the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, a federal complaint states.
Prosecutors say Pantoja-Morales had jumped out of a co-worker’s car into the freeway’s center median. The co-worker flagged down the DISD officer, who was on routine patrol. The officer offered Pantoja-Morales a ride to a nearby safe location.
During that ride, prosecutors say Pantoja-Morales began rummaging through the officer’s bag in the back seat. The officer pulled over and tried to remove him from the vehicle, but Pantoja-Morales allegedly resisted, touching off a physical struggle.
In the course of the fight, prosecutors allege Pantoja-Morales grabbed the officer’s gun and fired once, striking him in the femoral artery of his right leg.
The officer managed to regain control of his weapon despite the wound. Pantoja-Morales fled but was quickly apprehended by law enforcement, prosecutors said. A second DISD officer treated the wounded officer at the scene before he was taken to Parkland Hospital.
A federal grand jury indicted Pantoja-Morales on Sept. 16 on a charge of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould framed the case as a test of accountability for violence against police.
“The illegal alien’s alleged actions in this case represent an attack on the rule of law and a direct threat to public safety,” Raybould said. “Every day, we ask the men and women who wear the badge to stand between good and evil. It is my duty — and the duty of this office — to do all we can to protect those who protect us. Violence against an officer will not be tolerated, and we will pursue this prosecution with the utmost rigor to ensure full accountability.”
Pantoja-Morales is awaiting transfer to federal custody under a writ of habeas corpus filed Wednesday. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
The case was investigated by the ATF’s Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadin-Sarah Salkic is prosecuting.
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