The trial has been delayed for an Abilene man accused of pulling a gun on police in 2023 after he was told to show his hands. Abilene police then shot Robert Guevara Jr., 38.
He survived and was supposed to be in court Monday for a jury trial before 42nd District Judge James Eidson, but Eidson's office has confirmed that the trial will not proceed this week and will be reset.
He faces four counts: a first-degree felony count of aggravated assault against a public servant, one count of felony possession of methamphetamine, one count of endangering a child and a fourth count of theft of a firearm.
Guevara was being held Monday in the Taylor County Jail on $4 million in total bonds, according to online jail records.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
Accusation: And pointed it at the officers
According to allegations in the complaint filed Jan. 23, 2023, after initially responding to a 911 call of a vandalized house in Abilene, officers observed a white substance that appeared to be meth in the vehicle in an unoccupied vehicle in the driveway.
Officers then checked the vacant house for damage. As they were backing away from the house and discussing plans to deal with the suspected narcotics, they observed a man carrying a small child.
The man in question, later identified as Guevara, placed the child in the backseat of the vehicle with the suspected drugs.
Officers then approached the man who was standing outside of the car, according to court documents. Body-worn cameras were active at this time.
As the man turned toward police officers, they began to instruct him to show his hands.
He "failed to follow commands," according to allegations in court documents. The man allegedly reached behind his back, pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at the officers. The officer asked him to drop his weapon, but he would not.
"The officer felt threatened and discharged his firearm, striking the subject," according to court documents.
Court documents identified Abilene police officer Kyle Lassetter as the officer who had felt threatened.
Lassetter is still a member of the Abilene Police Department and serves on APD's SWAT team.
According to the court documents, officers on scene then retrieved the small child and treated the man, who was identified as Guevara.
"In law enforcement, when a split-second decision has to be made, we hope we have trained well enough to protect the community and officers alike," APD's then-chief Marcus Dudley Jr. said in a follow-up press release dated Jan. 23, 2023.
The Reporter-News filed an open records request for copies of the bodycam and police-vehicle footage with the city of Abilene on June 4.
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