Grape Creek Man Indicted as Trigger Man in Drive-by Shooting

SAN ANGELO, TX- A Grape Creek man has been indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after shooting at a man with a handgun.

On July 2, 2021, Tom Green County deputies were dispatched to the 8500 block of Old Sterling City for a reported shooting. The victim told the deputies that James Rodney Porter had threatened to shoot him on June 30, 2021.

The victim also told deputies that he had heard gunshots then saw a U-Haul vehicle speeding away from this property. The victim started to following vehicle and saw that Porter was the driver.

When the victim turned around to head back to his house, Porter turned around as well and started to follow the victim. At the property, Porter pointed a handgun at the victim and threatened to kill him.

A witness, who signed a statement of fact, told deputies that he heard gunshots in the early morning hours on July 2, 2021.

Deputies and CSI found two vehicles on the victim’s property that had several bullet holes in them. CSI recovered projectiles from the scene that had the appearance of 9mm bullets according to investigators.

The investigator observed a U-Haul vehicle driving on Old Sterling City Highway with a male subject driver that looked like James Porter and conducted a traffic stop. The driver was identified as James Rodney Porter who was subsequently arrested for driving with an invalid driver license.

In the vehicle, 2 spent 9mm shell casings were found on the passenger floorboards and a bullet exit hole was discovered in the passenger door.

A silver and black colored Ruger 9mm handgun was found inside the cab during a search of the vehicle. The handgun had one round in the chamber and several in the magazine. The bullet casing looked identical to the casing found on passenger floorboard. CSI performed a field test for the presence of gunpowder on the inside the passenger door which produced a positive result.

The victim told deputies that he was fearful he would be shot and wanted to file charges against Porter.

Porter was arrested and booked on July 2, 2021, is currently and inmate at the Tom Green County Detention Facility and has a bond of $50,000.00.

A guilty verdict in an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which is a second-degree felony, comes with fines up to $10,000.00 and 2 to 20 years in prison.