Wanted Fugitive Finally in Jail, Charged With Nine Felonies

The last time 25-year-old Toby Ray Fitchett made the news, he was being sought as a suspect running around a north San Angelo neighborhood with what police believed was a double-barreled shotgun.

Police became involved in the incident on June 6, when they received information that Fitchett had driven to a residence in the 1200 block of Koberlin and taken his 11-month-old son, then fled from officers who attempted to conduct a traffic stop on his silver Chrysler Sebring. After a jaunt through town, Fitchett fled on foot armed with the shotgun, leaving the child in the car with two other adult occupants.

He had four warrants out for his arrest at the time and was able to avoid apprehension.

Fitchett’s accused crime spree came to an end on Dec. 10, when he was arrested by an agency out of county and transported to the Tom Green County Jail. He is currently sitting on nine felony warrants relating to incidents that occurred between April 2013 and August 2014.

No Driving Allowed

The first of Fitchett’s open cases dates back to April 26, 2013, when the felon is accused of hitting a pedestrian downtown causing serious bodily injury and fleeing the scene in his white 1998 Dodge Stratus.

According to court documents, Fitchett was northbound in the 200 block of Oakes St. at roughly 2 a.m., when he ran a red light and struck a pedestrian making his way through the crosswalk.

Fitchett continued driving, the document states, without stopping to render aid. An ambulance arrived on scene and the victim was transported to Shannon Medical Center, where he was treated for multiple lacerations on his arms and head and received six staples in his scalp.

The following day, Fitchett’s vehicle was located in a parking lot in the 2400 block of N. Lillie St. The vehicle showed fresh damage to the hood and a broken windshield consistent with striking a pedestrian, the document states.

San Angelo Police Department Traffic Investigator Steven Quade learned that Fitchett had called a friend the previous night, stating that he had hit a person and didn’t know what to do. He told her he’d left the vehicle in the parking lot at her apartment complex.

Quade also determined during his investigation that on April 27, Fitchett was taken to the bus station in Sweetwater, where he’d boarded a bus to North Carolina. He left to stay with out of-state family because he knew he was being investigated for the crash, the document states.

Fitchett was picked up on a warrant and booked into the county jail on May 3, 2013. On June 12, 2013, he posted a $20k surety bond and was released with the condition that he was no longer permitted to drive.

No One Will Want You

A young woman was asleep in her home on Oct. 31, 2013, when she was awakened by her boyfriend, who accused her of having an affair.

In a house in the 200 block of E. 3^rd St., the victim reported that Toby Fitchett grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the living room, where he began assaulting her. The victim told police that Fitchett also dragged her into the bathroom and continued to assault her there, the violence continuing for several hours and culminating when Fitchett pulled out a knife.

According to court documents, Fitchett held the knife to his girlfriend’s throat, but rather than threaten to kill her, stated that “he was going to cut her face severely to the point that no one else would want her”.

She further reported to police that Fitchett had been violent in the past and that she was in fear for her life.

I was Scared

Three days after the alleged assault took place, officer Charles Barker was dispatched to the 100 block of W. 26^th St. to locate a blue stolen 1999 Pontiac Grand Am.

After locating the vehicle, Barker initiated a high-risk traffic stop at E. 27^th and N. Chadbourne St., pulling his duty weapon and ordering the vehicle’s only occupant, Fitchett, out of the car.

Barker reported that Fitchett opened the driver’s side door and looked back at him, then slammed it shut and sped away heading east on E. 27^th St. With his lights and siren activated, Barker pursued Fitchett for approximately four blocks to the intersection of E. 27^th and N. Magdalen St. At this point, Fitchett had reached such high speeds that he was unable to make the turn, and instead drove through the intersection, jumped a curb disabling his vehicle in the vacant lot of the Northside Rec. Center.

After the crash, Fitchett exited the vehicle and fled on foot. He was later found hiding under a mobile home in the 300 block of E. 26^th St. Barker later found a handgun under the driver’s side seat in the stolen vehicle.

When he was taken into custody, Fitchett waived his Miranda Rights and provided a statement. He told police that the vehicle belonged to him and his girlfriend, and that they had purchased the vehicle together. He also stated that he evaded because he saw that the officer had a gun pointed at him and was scared he was going to get shot.

Fitchett was transported to the county jail following the incident, where he was booked on five charges. The first was an order to go off bond for the accident involving serious bodily injury charged he’d acquired in April, as a stipulation of his bond was that he was not allowed to drive. He was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the incident with his girlfriend, as well as criminal trespass, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (car theft), evading arrest with a vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

After posting an aggregate of $77,550 in surety bonds, Fitchett was released nine weeks later on Jan. 11, 2014. A condition of his bond was that he was to have no contact with the victim of the assault.

Meth and Court Dates

After just over two and a half months after bonding out of jail, Fitchett was stopped again by police and arrested after he failed to provide proof of insurance and was determined to be driving without a license.

At the same time, officers located methamphetamine weighing in between one and four grams, as well as drug paraphernalia. Fitchett was again booked into the county jail, where he remained from March 30 to April 2, when he posted a total of $9486 in bonds.

Between April 26, 2013 and March 30, 2014, Fitchett had racked up six felony charges, ranging from state jail to enhanced second-degree felonies. On May 6, he was due to report in court on the charge of accident involving serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony, but never showed up. He was then indicted on bail jumping and failure to appear, another third-degree felony.

Fitchett had also failed to appear at a court date on April 9 for the evading arrest with vehicle charge—a third-degree felony enhanced to second-degree—the car theft charge—a state jail felony—and the unlawful possession of a firearm charge, a third-degree felony.

The Shotgun and Escape

On June 6, San Angelo Police units were dispatched to the 1900 block of Koberlin for an unknown problem. Once on scene, officer Stuart learned that Toby Ray Fitchett had just left the residence in a Chrysler Sebring with his 11-month-old son, court documents state.

The officer knew Fitchett from the previous aggravated assault call and vehicle chase, and was concerned for the child’s safety. He received information that Fitchett may be heading toward Main St., and spotted the vehicle traveling north.

Stuart initiated a traffic stop and the vehicle came to a halt in the 1000 block of E. 19^th St. Suddenly, the rear passenger door flung open, and a man carrying a shotgun exited the vehicle and ran north on Wade St. before cutting west down an alley at E. 19^th St.

While Stuart waited at the vehicle, a perimeter was set up involving several police units and a K9 officer. Stuart confirmed that the man who had fled was Toby Ray Fitchett after speaking to his brother and another adult in the car, and found the little boy seated in the back without a child safety seat.

After roughly two hours of search, police broke down the perimeter and Fitchett remained at large. Ten days later, the police confirmed Fitchett as the suspect and issued a wanted poster for the 25-year-old. He managed to avoid police custody for the next six months, racking up yet another third-degree felony when he failed to appear in court on Aug. 5 for all of the charges.

Meeting the Inevitable

At 4:17 a.m. on Dec. 11, Fitchett was booked into the Tom Green County Jail by an “out of county” agency. He was booked on nine felonies, including two third-degree bail jumping/failure to appear charges enhanced to second-degree felonies; two counts of third-degree unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; one state jail felony unauthorized use of a vehicle; one evading arrest with a vehicle charge enhanced from a third-degree felony to a felony of the second degree; one possession of a controlled substance enhanced to a second-degree felony; and a third-degree accident involving serious bodily injury.

A total of $335k in bonds has been set for the offenses, however no bond has been set for the car theft or either of the firearm charges. No trial or hearing dates have been set for any of the charges. 

Fitchett's brother, Jessie Fitchett, holed up in a house in noth San Angelo that was swarmed with San Angelo SWAT on Jan. 11, and ultimately took his own life. Jessie Fitchett was the suspect in a double-homicide that took place at Richard's Bar the previous night.