SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County sheriff’s deputy taken into custody just after midnight Monday is accused of beating a woman inside a West Bexar County home and then threatening her with a handgun, BCSO officials have confirmed.
Deputy Noe Avila, 43, faces a first-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon-family violence.
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Avila struck a woman inside a home multiple times, injuring her, before he pulled out a gun and pointed it at her in a threatening manner, BCSO officials said in a release.
The victim was able to run from the home and call 911 from a neighbor’s residence.
Avila, a 19-year veteran of BCSO, took off from the home in his vehicle before responding deputies arrived, according to BCSO.
He was later pulled over by Atascosa County sheriff’s deputies while driving southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 16 South in Atascosa County, according to the release.
BCSO deputies arrived at the traffic stop and took Avila into custody, later booking him at the Bexar County Jail.
Avila was still waiting to be magistrated Monday afternoon and no bond has been set in his case.
He is the ninth BCSO deputy arrested this year, according to data compiled by KSAT Investigates.
Sheriff Javier Salazar released the following statement Monday afternoon:
“I’m absolutely disgusted by the behavior in this case. This suspect showed no mercy to his victim, and this administration will show no mercy to him in the handling of the case. I have zero tolerance for family violence and I am equally committed to working with the District Attorney to ensure criminal accountability, but more importantly ensure justice for the victim. I have all intentions of removing him from this agency as soon as allowable in the disciplinary process.”
Avila is the second BCSO deputy charged with felony family violence in the past six days.
Last week, Corporal Leroy Martinez was charged with assault-family-choking after he was accused of restricting the airway of a woman days earlier.