On June 21, 2018, Defendant Rudolfo Nuncio Jr. entered a plea of guilty to the first degree felony offense of Aggravated Assault of a Public Servant, in exchange for a sentence of 40 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He will not be eligible for parole until the year 2038, and he continues to have cases pending in both Hidalgo County and in the Southern District of Texas.
The State, through Assistant District Attorneys Rob Freyer and Sara Corradi, were prepared to prove that on August 15, 2017, this defendant was the subject of an Amber Alert issued in Hidalgo County, regarding his being in possession of a young member of his family, and having an open Federal parole warrant. On that date, two Deputy United States Marshals attempted to apprehend him at the Flying J Truck Stop on Highway 242, when this Defendant rammed one of their vehicles and nearly hit one of the U.S. Marshals before fleeing northbound on Highway 59. Officers from multiple jurisdictions then followed the defendant on a 25 mile chase before the defendant wrecked near Shepherd, Texas, after striking the vehicle of a State Trooper who was attempting to lay spike strips to end the chase. Fortunately, no one was harmed in the pursuit and the young relative that was accompanying the defendant was returned safely to family in Hidalgo County. The State was also prepared to prove that the defendant was convicted in 2004 in Federal Court in Brownsville for Possession of Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute, as well as for Burglary of a Habitation in Michigan in 2000.
We would like to once again thank all of the officers for their fine work in this case, most notably the State Troopers of the Texas Department of Public Safety in Montgomery County and San Jacinto County, the Narcotics Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety, The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, the Elsa, Texas Police Department, and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department. The rapid response of these officers deescalated a tense situation without anyone being harmed and it allowed for the return of an innocent victim to her family in South Texas.
Chief Prosecutor Rob Freyer: “This plea underlies the importance of outstanding police work in ensuring that those who engage in conduct that endangers the officers and citizens of Montgomery County and surrounding areas will be dealt with appropriately.”
