On Sunday at 11:45 p.m., David Candanoza received a call from his daughter-in-law.
“Why is she calling me late night like this?” Candanoza said.
Candanoza’s son, Jacob Candanoza worked the night shift as a police officer in Terrell. Jacob had been with the Terrell PD for about six months after starting in July 2024.
“I'm getting choked up when I answer the phone. It's just one of those things that you just feel in your heart, and you know, bad. And I answer it and she's crying and saying, ‘He's been shot. He's been shot.’ And I already know what happened just like that.”
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Terrell Police said Jacob had been shot by a driver he had pulled over Sunday around 11 p.m.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by NBC 5, Jacob was shot multiple times by a man identified as Darrian Cortez Johnson. Johnson initially fled the scene, traveling 30 miles away. He was later arrested and has been charged with capital murder.
“We got to the hospital. They put us in a little room and said, 'If you want to see Jacob, you can,'” David said. “They led me in there and I got to see him. They said I can't touch him (because) it’s an ongoing investigation. It's so hard. I just wanted to hug him, but I know I can't. And there he was. I got to see him.”
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David had just seen his son 24 hours before at his business, Cedar Hill Roller Rink.
“He was doing some training here in Cedar Hill with some of his other officers,” David said. “He’s showing me just all this stuff. His handcuffs, different vests, and everything.”
David remembers giving him one last hug.
“Just hugging and just squeezing and popping his back,” David said. “I do that to all the boys, even my daughter. So, we call them daddy hugs.”
Jacob leaves behind a wife and a young daughter.
“I stress for his daughter now growing up without a dad,” David said.
On Tuesday morning, David and his family traveled to Terrell to visit Jacob’s patrol vehicle which was moved Monday to the police station for anyone who wanted to honor the officer. Mounds of flowers, cards, and tributes now surround the young officer’s patrol car. The same patrol car, David said, his son was assigned about a month ago.
“I can't tell you how proud he was to be an officer. He had just got his car,” David said. “He loved driving his car. He said, ‘Dad, I got my own police vehicle now.'”
As the family prepares for their final goodbye, David also seeks closure.
“I was asking to talk to the first officer on the scene,” David said. “Because he was the last person to see Jacob there, if Jacob was alive or last breath. That's the guy that he saw last. You know, just want to. What did he, was he hurting? Was he already passed away? They say anything to reach out and hug you? Did he? What did happen? So many questions.”
David would also like the chance to speak and say thank you to the good Samaritan, police say, who used Jacob’s radio to report he had been shot.
“That would be so great to talk to that person. Tell him thank you so much for trying to help,” David said. “You have the guts to go get his radio and try to call the police. Can you imagine? That person is a saint.”
Funeral arrangements have not been finalized.
On Wednesday, the City of Terrell will host a candlelight vigil in memory of Officer Candanoza. The vigil will take place at 6 p.m. outside of the Terrell Police Department at 1100 State Highway 34 N.
