Maybe this time they will keep this four-time drunk-drive locked up.

But then again, they should have done that a whole lot earlier – not just when he killed a local police chief and fled the scene.

Needville ISD Police Chief Ernest V Mendoza was killed on the way to his home in Wharton on Friday night when a four-time-convicted drunken driver hit him nearly head-on, officials said.

Superintendent Curtis Rhodes said Mendoza, a 54-year-old father of seven, was all about family and God.

"He was a very Christian man, a quality man," Rhodes said.

The 29-year-old driver of the other vehicle, Guillermo Paniagua, ran from the scene but was captured by the end of the night and charged with felony murder and failure to stop and render aid, said Texas DPS Senior Trooper Gary Pflughaupt.

He said Paniagua, a construction worker in Wharton, smelled of alcohol and slurred his words when he was captured.

Paniagua has drunk-driving convictions in Texas and Georgia, Pflughaupt said. His bond was expected to be set this morning.

Mendoza had served as police chief for the school district in Fort Bend County for 10 years.

He worked security at a basketball game Friday night, and was a mile from home when he was struck.

I pray for the family of Chief Mendoza – and for all the students, faculty and staff of Needville ISD. And I pray that Paniagua quickly gets his just punishment.

Posted by: Greg at 06:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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