Man escapes, then surrenders after shooting in San Jacinto County

A Willis man, Misael Ortuno Gomez Jr., is facing a charge of Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon after reportedly shooting another man and then barricading himself inside of a home on the 100 block of Foxfire Lane in Willis, Texas. The incident took place at 5 p.m., Wednesday, April 21.

“One male was shot three times in the mid-section of his body. As San Jacinto County deputies arrived with Pct. 3 Constable Sam Houston, they immediately started life-saving procedures, along with the Bear Creek Fire Department, then with EMS,” according to a statement from San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers.

Medical care was provided to the man and he was flown by air ambulance to a local trauma center where he underwent surgery and is listed in stable condition.

“The deputies gathered facts at the scene and the last known location of the suspect was [that] he fled back into the house at the original address and barricaded himself in,” Capers said.

Due to possible violent nature of the suspect and the fact that authorities thought Gomez was still in the house, the Montgomery County SWAT team was called in to help apprehend the suspect, who was believed to be heavily armed.

Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson deployed SWAT assets to assist the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office, including a 30-man SWAT team, SWAT truck with speakers, a robot, bomb squad and two drones.

“The MCSO SWAT team arrived on scene and then began a search of the entire area of 8-10 acres, as well as all of the outbuildings and houses located thereon,” Capers said.

Gomez was not found in the home. Authorities believe he slipped out the back door before they began searching for him.

On Thursday, April 22, Gomez was arrested without incident by the SJCSO Detective Bureau. He is being held in the San Jacinto County Jail on a charge of Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon. Bond was set at $100,000 by Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Christina McGee.