By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — A Texas man was arrested for attempted murder of a police officer early Saturday morning after he led St. John sheriff’s deputies on a car chase and struck a deputy with his vehicle, said a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

David Garcia, 27, 2368 Hamburg St., Brownsville, Texas, was booked with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer and several other charges following the car chase, which began just after midnight Saturday, said Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office.

According to a report from police on the incident, a deputy tried to stop Garcia’s car after watching it drive through a stop sign in the Riverlands subdivision around 12:17 a.m. Garcia then sped away from the scene in an attempt to evade the deputy.

Clement said additional officers joined the chase and assisted in stopping the vehicle. He said as deputies tried to get Garcia out of the vehicle he tried to drive away again and ended up hitting a deputy who was getting out of a patrol car.

Clement said when the vehicle finally came to a stop, Garcia got out of the car and began running away before finally being caught and detained.

The deputy who was hit was taken to River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace for treatment of his injuries. He was cleared to return to work immediately, Clement said.

As a result of the chase, Clement said Garcia was booked on several other charges including aggravated flight from an officer, criminal damage to property, attempted simple escape and reckless driving. He also faces four counts of aggravated assault for almost hitting four other deputies with his vehicle.

Clement said investigators are still trying to determine why Garcia was so desperate to escape arrest as he was only facing a minor traffic violation. Authorities are in the process of conducting a search warrant on Garcia’s car.

Although no bond has been set on the attempted first-degree murder charge, Garcia faces a $30,250 bond for the other charges. He is being held at the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace.