Drunk Gunslinger Indicted for Shooting at Off-Duty Deputy

SAN ANGELO— A San Angelo man has been indicted for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon after shooting a gun at an off-duty deputy after offering him a beer.

Rito Lozano, 22, has been indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. According to court documents, on May 29, 2023, at 1:10 a.m., dispatch advised the investigator that an off-duty deputy was following a vehicle that was occupied by a driver that had pointed a gun at him while parked on the top of the Knickerbocker Road dam.

The off-duty deputy said that while he was parked on top of the dam in his off-duty vehicle, a white Ford pickup parked along side him. Then, a male subject, identified as Lozano, knocked on the deputy’s window and offered him a beer, which he refused.

After a short time, the deputy heard gunshots being fired near his vehicle. The deputy exited his vehicle and announced himself as a peace officer to Lozano several times and displayed his Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office badge as he approached Lozano’s vehicle. The deputy also had his service weapon drawn.

Lozano pointed a pistol at the deputy as he approached the vehicle when the deputy advised him to put the gun down, which he did. Several open alcohol containers were visible in Lozano’s vehicle and the deputy suspected that Lozano was intoxicated. Then, the deputy told Lozano that he was not free to leave and that an on-duty deputy was on his way to the scene.

Lozano ended up driving off at a high rate of speed with the off-duty deputy following him. The off-duty deputy followed Lozano all the way to Christoval, Texas where he crashed his vehicle at the 22000 block of Toe Nail Trail. There, Lozano was placed under arrest for Aggravated Assault Against a Public Servant and Evading Arrest or Detention with a Vehicle.

Lozano was booked into the Tom Green County Jail on May 29, 2023, and released the next day on $55,000 bond. While Lozano was arrested for Aggravated Assault Against a Public Servant and Evading Arrest, he was indicted on an Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon charge.

Lozano is next due in court on December 19, 2023, for a status report hearing and has a jury trial set for March 4, 2024.