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Officer Shoots Suspected Car Thief

Truck Rolls Back Into House

POSTED: Tuesday, June 9, 2009

UPDATED: 3:43 pm CDT June 9, 2009

PASADENA, Texas -- A police officer shot a man at the end of a chase that started when he allegedly stole a pickup truck, police told KPRC Local 2

Pasadena police said Anthony Rodgers, 24, was suspected of stealing a pickup truck at an apartment complex in the 400 block of Garver Street on Tuesday morning.

An officer tried to pull Rodgers over, but he refused to stop, officials said.

Police said the man led officers on a chase to the 100 block of Denham Street, where Rodgers hit a light pole.

After Rodgers hit the pole, the officer got out of his car to arrest him.

"As the officer was moving from the passenger side of the vehicle to the driver's side of the vehicle around the back of this truck, he observed the back up lights come on and the driver apparently gunned the vehicle and proceeded in the officer's direction," Capt. Bud Corbett said. "The officer responded to that with gunfire and apparently struck the suspect at least one time in the leg and once in the jaw."

The pickup truck rolled back and crashed into a house. The home's living room was damaged.

Rufel and Eva Muniz were asleep inside. Rufel Muniz said the light pole saved their lives.

"If that light pole wasn't there, the truck would have went straight into my room and I wouldn't be talking right now," he said.

Rufel Muniz said it was a shock to find the pickup truck in his home.

"At first I thought it was a cop that was in my house, but it was the back end of the truck that was in the house," he said. "The truck got in and I thought it was bomb that exploded."

Rodgers was flown to a hospital. His condition was not released.

A woman inside the home suffered a bruise.

Rodgers faces charges of auto theft and evading from police.