Former Sheriff Candidate Arrested for Allegedly Assaulting a Woman

MIDLAND, TX – A former candidate for sheriff in Midland County has been arrested after assaulting a female delivery driver.

According to law enforcement, Midland Police officers were dispatched to Joe Lozano's appliance store for reports of an assault.

According to the victim, she was completing her delivery route when she stopped at the store and asked if she could use the restroom. 

As she made her way to the restroom Lozano began grabbing her inappropriately over her clothes.

The woman was able to get away and make it to the restroom. Once safely inside, she realized she didn't have her phone and was unable to call for help.

When she exited the restroom, Lozano began exposing and touching himself. As the victim attempted to leave the store, Lozano tried to hug her and grab her inappropriately again.

According to the affidavit, once she left the store the victim called her supervisor and he called the police department.

When officers questioned Lozano, he initially claimed no one had stopped by the store during that time.

Lozano then agreed to show officers the video footage from inside the building, but there was no footage from the timeframe that the assault occurred.

The 64-year-old former sheriff candidate was charged with indecent assault, a class A misdemeanor, and indecent exposure, a class B misdemeanor.

But this isn't the first time Lozano has faced trouble with the law. According to local news outlets, in 2004 he was arrested during a year-long prostitution investigation of two massages parlors in Odessa. Lozano was arrested in connection with The Healing Touch parlor.

In January of 2005, Lozano pleaded guilty to the prostitution charge, a class B misdemeanor. He was fined $1000.

Just a few years ago Lozano was charged with forging documents. At the time Texas Mutual Workers' Compensation Insurance confirmed the charges were related to worker's compensation.

Lozano claimed to have been injured while working as an appliance repairman for A&A Appliance in Midland. After claiming he couldn't work Texas Mutual began distributing income benefits.

It was later determined Lozano was working as a self-employed appliance repairman.

In 2017, Lozano pleaded guilty to a class A misdemeanor. He was sentenced to serve one day in the Midland County Jail and ordered to pay $6,049 in restitution.