The suspected gunman accused of fatally shooting a Terrell police officer on Sunday has been identified and charged with capital murder. NBC 5’s Larry Collins has the details.
What to Know
- Terrell police officer Jacob Candanoza was fatally shot during a traffic stop late Sunday night.
- The suspected gunman's vehicle was found about 30 miles away.
- A person was taken into custody at about 5:30 a.m. and is being held at the Kaufman County Detention Center. He has been identified as Darrian Cortez Johnson and has been charged with capital murder.
- Candanoza had been with the Terrell PD for about six months after starting in July 2024.
- Texas Rangers are now leading the investigation into the shooting.
A Terrell police officer died overnight after he was shot during a traffic stop late Sunday.
According to Terrell police, officer Jacob Candanoza was shot at least once after stopping a driver near a Super 8 motel along the 1600 block of S. State Highway 34 at approximately 11 p.m. on Sunday.
Police said Candanoza requested a cover unit during the traffic stop, and additional officers were sent to the location.
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Within moments of dispatching the other officers, the Terrell Police Department Communications Division received two 911 calls regarding an officer being shot, police said. The department also received a radio transmission from a citizen who used the officer's radio to give the same information.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the suspect fired several shots at Candanoza from a close distance, striking Candanoza in the head and chest area and causing him to collapse. The suspect then fled the scene in his pickup truck.
Terrell police officers, as well as the Terrell Fire Department and CareFlite, responded to the scene. According to police, the responding officers confirmed Candanoza had been shot and immediately began to administer medical attention.
Candanoza was transported to Baylor Scott & White Family Medical Center in Forney, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said.
According to Lt. Mary Hauger of the Terrell Police Department, Candanoza gave the responding officers the suspect's license plate information. Off-duty officers and Texas state troopers later spotted the vehicle in the Canton area in Van Zandt County, about 30 miles east of Terrell.
When officers attempted to stop the suspect, a vehicle pursuit ensued. The vehicle was eventually disabled, and the suspect fled on foot into a heavily wooded area, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Officers searched the area on foot, with K-9s and drones. After a seven-hour manhunt, police reported that the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Darrian Cortez Johnson, had been taken into custody around the Mill Creek Resort off Interstate 20 at about 5:30 a.m.
Johnson has been charged with capital murder and is being held at the Kaufman County Detention Center.
Candanoza has been a police officer with the Terrell Police Department since July 2024.
According to state licensing records, Candanoza completed his basic peace officer course with the Dallas County Sheriff's Academy in August 2023 and 160 hours of field training with the Terrell Police Department on Oct. 25.
Terrell Chief of Police Arley Sansom said before dawn Monday that this has been a very difficult time for his department and that they would release more information later.
The department said he is survived by his wife and a young child.
"We want to extend our deepest condolences to the family during this hard time," said Hauger.
The Terrell Police Department said Candanoza's patrol vehicle was moved Monday to the police station for anyone who wanted to drop off flowers and cards or share general good wishes.
"We're a small community. Of course, it affects a lot of people. We heard that he had small children and things, so that's tragic. You don't ever want to hear anything like that," said Joy Hubbell, who was among the first to bring flowers Monday morning. "You know, of course, if you're here in Terrell, you know somebody, they know somebody, you know? We're all together."
North Texas police departments, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Grand Prairie, and Arlington, also shared tributes for Candanoza online.
Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As developments unfold, elements of this story may change.
