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Grand Jury Declines to Indict Officers in Teen’s Shooting

Posted/updated on: November 21, 2014 at 5:57 pm
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Justin AguilarLONGVIEW – A Gregg County grand jury has declined to return indictments against three officers involved in the shooting of Justin Aguilar on March 9, 2014. According to KETK, the grand jury’s decision means that under Texas law no criminal charges will be filed. According to the autopsy report, the teenage robbery suspect was shot five times by police and had marijuana in his system. The autopsy for Aguilar, 15, was returned in June and was released by authorities last month. The Forest Park Middle School student was a suspect in the attempted robbery of the New-Way convenience store in the 1300 block of South Green Street in Longview March 9th. He was shot in a standoff with officers.

Police say the station was robbed by a suspect who fled the scene. Based upon a description provided by the store employee, officers were able to locate the juvenile a short distance away. Police first encountered Aguilar on Edgefield Avenue, and he ran to Avalon Avenue. Shots were fired. Aguilar is said to have shot out the rear passenger window of a police vehicle. Investigators say when the teen kept firing a semiautomatic pistol, officers returned the fire, fatally wounding Aguilar. According to the autopsy report, Aguilar was shot in the face and neck, through the left arm into the chest, the torso, the right leg below the knee and grazed on the left side of his back.

According to a statement from the DA’s office, “This matter is tragic, for the family of Justin Aguilar, as well as the officers. No peace officer wants to shoot someone while in the line of duty. The loss of this young man’s life is truly sad, yet under the circumstances, his actions presented the officers with little choice. Having shown no reluctance to shoot at law enforcement officers, Mr. Aguilar did not drop his weapon and surrender, even after being asked to do so. The officers were exposed and vulnerable at that point. To protect their lives and possibly the lives of others, these officers did what Texas law allows, they used deadly force against deadly force.” The investigation was conducted by the Texas Rangers and presented to the grand jury by District Attorney Carl Dorrough and Assistant District Attorneys Ashley Perkins and Ken Strawn.



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