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LEXINGTON — A Lexington man has been charged with assault after he struck a suspect who was fleeing law enforcement with his pickup.
Christian Garcia, 29, has been charged with second degree assault, a Class 2A felony.
Garcia appeared for arraignment in Dawson County Court before Judge Jeffrey Wightman on Monday, Sept. 16. Garcia later posted bail in the amount of ten percent of $10,000.
A preliminary hearing has been set for Sept. 25 at 11 a.m.
According to court documents, on Friday, Sept. 13, an officer with the Lexington Police Department was dispatched to the vicinity of Highway 283 and Goodwill in response to a reckless motor vehicle that was said to have been involved in a hit-and-run crash at 304 E. 9th St.
The vehicle had been identified as a 2006 Chrysler 300 that was last seen traveling southbound on Highway 283.
The officer was unable to locate the vehicle and continued south to the Lexington Walmart Supercenter, “as it was a busy area during that time of night and the vehicle might be in the area,” according to the affidavit for probable cause.
The vehicle was located in the Scooters Coffee parking lot, near the Walmart location. Other officers arrived on scene and began looking for the driver.
During the search, the officers located the Chrysler driver in the south end of the Walmart parking lot, engaged in a physical altercation with another driver in a semi-truck.
As the officers approached, the Chrysler driver fled toward the north entrance of Walmart.
During a 200-yard foot chase, the officers observed a maroon pickup strike the suspect, the impact of which threw him to the ground.
The driver of the pickup, identified as Christian Garcia, reversed the truck and stopped near the scene. When officers approached him, Garcia said, “You’re welcome.” A juvenile female, identified as Garcia’s daughter, was in the pickup at the time of the incident.
Medical care was called for the initial suspect, who was stabilized at the scene.
Given the circumstances, including the intentional striking of the suspect, the Lexington Police arrested Garcia for assault.
Standardized field sobriety tests on Garcia showed no signs of alcohol or drug impairment.
During a later interview, officers said that Garcia explained that he saw the officers chasing the suspect and wanted to help stop him.
Garcia would be booked into the Dawson County Jail.
