On Feb. 19, 2018, at approximately 6:30pm, officers with the New Braunfels Police Department were called to the Lowe’s location in the 1400 block of I-35 South for a report...
On Feb. 19, 2018, at approximately 6:30pm, officers with the New Braunfels Police Department were called to the Lowe’s location in the 1400 block of I-35 South for a report of a robbery. An unknown male had entered the store, passed a note to employees demanding cash, and after a brief scuffle with employees, the male fled the store and sped away in a tan Ford Taurus.
Responding officers located the vehicle heading northbound on I-35 in the area of Kohlenberg Road and a traffic stop was attempted after the vehicle exited at York Creek. The driver of the vehicle briefly stopped on the York Creek overpass before fleeing southbound on I-35. Other responding officers were able to place spike strips in the area of Solms Road, successfully puncturing at least one of the vehicle’s tires. Pursuing officers then successfully attempted a PIT maneuver, causing the vehicle to come to a stop against the center concrete traffic barrier at Schwab Road. Officers then attempted a felony traffic stop, but the driver refused to exit the vehicle. That led officers to use their department-issued less lethal weapons, specifically bean bag rounds fired from a shotgun. This less lethal alternative is specifically designed to incapacitate without causing serious bodily injury. The suspect still refused to exit the vehicle and also began yelling that he had a gun and would start to shoot at the officers if they didn’t back away. The decision was then made to call in both the NBPD Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) and the NBPD SWAT unit. All traffic on northbound and southbound I-35 was shut down while those additional units, along with SWAT and other units from the Comal County Sheriff’s Office and the Schertz Police Department, arrived on scene. The man continued to refuse to exit the vehicle and the standoff lasted a total of about 3 hours until trained negotiators with the NBPD CNT were able to convince the man to exit the vehicle and surrender peacefully. The suspect, identified as 46-year old Ruben Ramirez Jr. from San Antonio was taken into custody without
further incident. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, and he will be booked at the Comal County Jail on a variety of charges, including Aggravated Robbery, Evading Arrest with a Vehicle, and Resisting Arrest. Additional charges may also be pending. The New Braunfels Police Department would like to thank all of the area law enforcement agencies for their assistance during this incident. NBPD would also like to thank the thousands of drivers affected by the closure of I-35 for their patience while this situation was brought to a peaceful conclusion.