The Associated Press
MAYPEARL, Texas — Attempted capital murder charges have been filed against a 35-year-old man police said broke into Maypearl City Hall and tried to shoot the town’s police chief with his own gun.
Gretchon Windell Powell was arrested this week at a Dallas apartment complex and is being held in the Ellis County jail on a $400,000 bond.
Police said Powell broke through a door at city hall around 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 15, telling Chief Lester Taylor that he had been in an accident and needed help.
Powell allegedly took the police chief’s gun, pointed it at Taylor and pulled the trigger several times, but the Browning 9mm never fired, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Taylor ran to his office to call for help, and Powell got away.
According to public documents, Powell has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for evading arrest and burglary in East Texas.
Maypearl, which has about 1,000 residents, is about 35 miles southwest of Dallas.