By Michelle Mondo
San Antonio Express-News
SAN ANTONIO — With little improvement in his condition Monday evening, San Antonio Police Officer Robert Deckard was surrounded by family and friends as he clung to life after being shot in the head as he pursued two robbery suspects.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we thank everyone of you for your interest in Bobby’s condition,” the family wrote in a statement on the SAPD Facebook page. “Bobby means the world to us and it warms our hearts to know that he has touched so many lives. The outpouring of support has been overwhelming.”
The pair suspected in the shooting, Jenevieve Ramos, 28, and Shawn Ruiz Puente, 32, were charged in Wilson County with aggravated assault of a public servant. Their bail was set at $250,000 each.
Puente since has been transferred to Atascosa County Jail.
The charge is the same degree of felony as attempted capital murder and is punishable by up to life in prison. If Deckard dies, the charges could be upgraded to capital murder.
A seven-year veteran of the force and a father of two, Deckard, 31, remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit at San Antonio Military Medical Center after the early Sunday shooting. Doctors could not remove the bullet lodged in his brain.
The SAPD public information office gave updates on Deckard’s condition Monday via social media, where there was an outpouring of support from the public.
“Steps are being taken to keep the officer medically paralyzed to help in recovery,” the department posted on its Facebook page. “There has been some response from the officer, but medical staff are still being cautious as to the officer’s chances of recovery.”
Deckard — described Sunday as an “excellent officer” by a supervisor at the North Side substation where he was assigned — was filling in for another officer overnight Saturday on the South Side when he spotted a car that matched the description of one involved in several robberies late Saturday and early Sunday, police said.
Deckard saw the car in the 4000 block of Roosevelt Avenue about 2 a.m. and began a pursuit. The occupants of the car fired at Deckard as he chased it into Atascosa County, officials said.
A bullet punctured the front windshield of Deckard’s patrol car and struck him in the forehead. He crashed on Interstate 37 near mile marker 109.
Several other law enforcement agencies kept up the chase.
Near Poth in Wilson County, the pair ditched their car and ran into the brush while exchanging gunfire with a Poth police officer, who was not injured, officials said. They were arrested about 8 a.m. after a search using a police dog and helicopter.
Puente and Ramos are suspected in 15 robberies, but San Antonio police didn’t release any details about when or where the crimes occurred because the suspects haven’t been charged in those. A spokeswoman did say that the targets varied, including convenience stores, a car wash and a bar.
Deckard is the fourth SAPD officer injured this year in a shooting, according to police records. The department has had 11 officer-involved shootings this year.
Deckard’s family requested that the media respect their privacy, adding they wanted SAPD to continue keeping “everyone apprised of Bobby’s medical progress while we continue to be by his side.”
Copyright 2013 the San Antonio Express-News