ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas — Video obtained by KENS 5 and never before released shows the dramatic end of a Texas-sized manhunt for an escaped prisoner who was shot to death in Atascosa County almost two years ago.
While a team of about two dozen officers from a number of agencies were involved in the hunt, it was the Atascosa County animal control chief's team that willingly took on high-powered rifle fire to help end a killing spree.
Henry Dominguez, who has more than three decades of law enforcement experience, said he listened to his instincts to help find and stop a capital murderer who was headed for Mexico.
Sheriff David Soward said it was a joint effort by virtually every agency in the county. Together, he said, they fanned out to watch every major roadway in the county after they received a credible tip that escaped killer Gonzalo Lopez was making a run for the border—right through their territory.
Lopez had been on the run for 22 days, having escaped from a Texas prison transport bus on May 12, 2022. Lawmen said his crime spree continued as he killed five people – a grandfather and his grandkids – in Centerville, Texas. Officials said Lopez stole the family's guns and their truck before heading for the border.
While every stripe of law enforcement agency in the region raced to Atascosa County, the radio crackled: "He is armed with an AR-15 and a pistol and a whole bunch of ammo."
'This guy shows up, he doesn't get away'
With others watching major highways, Dominguez said he picked Highway 16 north of Poteet because he had been patrolling the area for the past 25 years.
Dominguez said he set himself up in the highway median so that his headlights would shine directly on southbound traffic.
Intelligence information shared across the state indicated the white Chevrolet pickup they were after had a big dent on the bed on the driver’s side. Looking for and not seeing the dent, Dominguez said, “Something told me, God told me or God pushed me to do these things, and I had the urge to check the plate to make sure because it didn’t have the dent.”
Falling in behind the truck, Dominguez said he called in the license plate because he felt a God thump.
“I have a knack for being in the right place at the right time, or God put me there," he said. "I hope God puts me there to help people."
Driving an unmarked vehicle, quietly and while giving the truck plenty of space, Dominguez responded calmly when the sheriff confirmed on the radio that they had their man.
Soward said as soon as the license plate was confirmed, the entire team moved in to close the net.
"The most important thing – and everybody knew it, but we never talked about it – was: This guy shows up, he doesn't get away," Soward said. "He doesn't get away with a chance to kill again."
“If someone is willing to kill a child they are willing to kill anybody," Dominguez added. "So I knew at that point that we had to stop this guy. We couldn't let him get away, because the potential for future harm was very real.”
With lawmen converging from every direction, Dominguez knew his job was to watch Lopez.
“Keep him within eyesight, to give his location, direction of travel and speed so that other responding officers would know how to set up, where to set up and be ready for him. So that, basically, he was going to come into our trap and we weren't going to have to chase him down.”
As they moved toward Poteet, Dominguez said Lopez was following all traffic laws, driving under the speed limit and even using his turn signals for lane changes.
Still, community safety in Poteet was top of mind for everyone, as it was a big night in the small town.
“That was Project Graduation night. We had an event at the Lion's Club where the children were there as a celebration for graduation," Dominguez said. "That venue was full of children and families, so if he had pulled in there he would have had a lot of victims unfortunately."
'A good hit'
Safely passing through town, Dominguez said the team’s attention turned toward disabling the truck.
“The main objective was to take away his means of escape, which was his tires," he said. "That was the plan: to set up spikes, but not in the conventional way with lights and a patrol car."
He added they deployed spikes in a carefully crafted, tactical manner.
“When he ran over the spikes, he didn't even know he ran over spikes. And the officer that deployed the spikes was in an unmarked vehicle, so basically he would have just thought he ran over something and there was a vehicle on the side of the road, without knowing that he had actually been spiked. I think that's exactly what happened."
Dominguez said it was a textbook example of good communication by an experienced team.
“By me giving my location, Chief Eric Kaiser knew, without actually even seeing the vehicle, that the next vehicle that was coming over the hill was going to be him," Dominguez said. "We were able to successfully deflate or hit four tires. It was what we call a good hit."
Of Kaiser’s move, Dominguez said, “Because he had no idea we were there, he didn't even try to abort and he didn't swerve. He didn't hit the brakes, nothing. He just went right over there like it was a just a limb in the roadway. It was a great thing, because without that he would have been able to get away further, faster.”
Dominguez said knowing that an army of help was closing in was comforting.
“I've known Chief Kaiser for 25 years. I've known (the) sheriff for 35, 40 years," he added. "So I knew what our department or our officers are capable of, and I was confident that they would get the job done. I already knew that my help was there for me and that we were going to push this and it was going to be done at our speed, not his."
>>WATCH: Dashcam footage of the pursuit
Still, the danger was apparent. They knew Lopez was well-armed.
“We knew he had an AR, but at the time we didn't know the caliber," Dominguez said. "We knew that he had a rifle because during the chase I actually saw the rifle in the back window as he was driving. He was holding it up in a position where he was ready to come up the window with it. So I knew there was a rifle involved, and he had been told there was pistols involved.”
Approaching Jourdanton, Dominguez said everyone was hoping for the best when something astounding happened at the truck stop at Highway 162.
Dominguez said Lopez turned right and headed towards his own animal control facility just a short distance away—territory Dominguez is exceptionally familiar with.
“I took it as another indicator that God was with me, that my angels were on my shoulder, and they assured me that everything was going to be OK," he said. "He actually turned to my front yard driveway."
Taking off into open country, Dominguez said Lopez finally realized his flight plan to escape was crashing.
“There's no houses back there, so it's a good place. I could see that he never stopped. He kept going. So now I'm telling officers to head back towards Highway 16, because I can see that he's going along the fence line. And I know that'll come out at Highway 16."
Closing in
Sheriff Soward said there was a concentrated effort by he and his command staff to make sure all of the different agencies involved worked in concert as the pursuit neared its end, because the stakes were so high.
As officers converged from all sides, the danger of crossfire was an important consideration.
Once Lopez made the turn and started heading towards a neighborhood full of senior citizens, Dominguez said everyone on the team knew it was time to act. With lights and sirens finally screaming, everyone pounced, as once again, Lopez started to lose control and left the roadway.
"We were not going to let this monster hurt anybody else," Dominguez said, adding he watched as sparks flew when Lopez took out a power pole while careening through the senior neighborhood.
When Lopez crashed into a fence, bullets started flying as he tried to escape with a rifle. Puffs of dirt can be seen as slugs from law enforcement officers slam into the ground while Lopez crawled out the window of the stolen truck and tried to make a run for freedom.
Dominguez said a house a few yards away took some bullets, but everything and everyone else escaped unscathed as the man who had been on the run for almost three weeks was finally brought to a final stop.
"None of the officers got hurt, no civilians got hurt," Dominguez said. "In the end, the bad guy went to hell and we got to go home."
Not knowing whether the man was dead or alive, Dominguez said they made a cautious approach.
“While he was on the ground, we didn't know if he was waiting to ambush us or if he was alive or what. So until we actually approached him, we had no idea of what his condition was.”
Dominguez said there was an attempt to provide medical help, but it was not successful.
The next day, in the daylight, he says he found a bullet hole in his windshield about a foot away from where his head had been. He calls it a very close call.
Sheriff Soward said he awarded 14 citations for the officers who were directly involved in the incident and the officers who helped bring the killer down were given days some days off to recover, as well as some appreciation gifts.
And then, everyone went right back to work.
Dominguez admits that, in the days after the shooting, he took some flak for being a dog catcher who helped catch a killer.
“People did, yes. They said that of all the officers in all of Texas, the dog catcher caught him. So, you know, I've got to take it," he said. "It's part of the deal. I would have liked to have thought that a law enforcement officer took him down, but if we took a dog catcher to catch him, that's fine. Whatever it takes to get the job done.
"Because, again, we couldn't allow this man to harm any more families to kill anybody else."
“We wanted justice for the family who died and closure that this monster will never hurt again," added an emotional Dominguez. "My heart goes out to them. No child should ever die like this. I am a father and your heart has to hurt."
He said he's had a chance to honor his faith in God by being a dedicated public servant.
“I am doing what I was put on this earth to do.”