The man accused of shooting an off-duty Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was working security at a bank on Monday remains in the Tarrant County Jail as of Tuesday night.
The man accused of shooting an off-duty Tarrant County Sheriff's Office deputy who was working security at a bank on Monday remains in the Tarrant County Jail as of Tuesday night.
Deputy Brent Brown, 35, was working an off-duty job as a security guard at the Fort Worth Community Credit Union on Brentwood Stair Road, in East Fort Worth on Monday at about 3:40 p.m.
The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said on Monday, Leland Earl Williams, 35, entered the lobby of the bank and pulled out a handgun. There was an exchange of gunfire, but Brown was hit in the chest and abdomen. Brown was rushed to the hospital, underwent surgery and is expected to survive.
"And this was a situation yesterday where one millimeter difference, and he doesn’t come home ever again," said Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare.
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Tarrant County leaders told NBC 5 that after surviving emergency surgery, Brown was awake and alert on Tuesday.
"I think more than anything, he wants to get back into uniform," said Manny Ramirez, Tarrant County Commissioner for Precinct 4. "You know, Deputy Brown is a hero. I think God put him there in that bank for a reason, because who knows what would have happened."
Williams ran off and after a manhunt for him, he was arrested in the 1800 block of Lynnwood Hills Drive. Court documents show his home address is listed on that street, which is less than a mile from the credit union where the shooting took place.
Williams was charged with attempted capital murder of a peace officer. Initially, his bond was set at $100,000, but that didn't sit well with law enforcement or county officials.
"We were absolutely disgusted. It's a slap in the face to every single police officer putting their lives on the line, it's a slap in the face to Deputy Brown," Ramirez said.
The Fort Worth Police Officer's Association commented on social media about the initial bond.
Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare also made remarks about the initial bond, saying it was too low. In Texas, a person in jail only has to put up 10% of the bond amount to get out. In other words, Williams would have had to pay $10,000 of the $100,000 to get out.
On Tuesday afternoon, Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells said it asked a district judge to raise the bond amount set by a magistrate judge. Jail records showed it was then increased to $1 million by the end of the day.
"A magistrate set the bond at $100,000. The Fort Worth Police Department sent the case to us. We filed the charge of attempted capital murder and are requesting that the district judge raise the bond to $500,000," Sorrells said in a news release Tuesday afternoon. "We are going to do everything we can to protect those who protect us. I am going to make sure that, like Officer Brown, we go the extra mile in seeking justice."
In the wake of the outcry, some Tarrant County officials have begun calling for more crimes to be eligible to be assigned no bond. In Texas, the only crime that allows a judge to set no bond regardless of other factors is capital murder.
"One of the things that I think should change, is there should be more crimes that are acceptable to have no bond," O'Hare said. "When we let violent criminals out on the streets, it’s unacceptable, it’s absurd, it has to stop."
Williams has had multiple run-ins with police in the past, according to court documents.
Court records obtained by NBC 5 showed Williams spent 15 days in jail in 2010 for theft of property of less than $500 and in June 2023 spent three days in jail after being accused of taking cash from a woman and a bank in Dallas. He took a plea deal over the summer. At this time, no other criminal record has been confirmed.
The Fort Worth Community Credit Union remained closed on Tuesday with a note on a boarded-up window saying the lobby would remain closed until further notice.
The shooting and the motive behind remain under investigation.
