Harris County deputy shooting suspect arrested, confesses to string of robberies
Deputy survives AR-15 shooting, video released
The Harris County Precinct 4 deputy who survived after being shot at by a suspect with an AR-15 in a neighborhood spoke exclusively to FOX 26 and Damali Keith reports on the unbelievable dashcam video.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - The suspect involved in a string of robberies and the aggravated assault of a Harris County deputy with an AR-15 has been booked and identified by Harris County Precinct 4 constables.
First on FOX, we're showing you the unbelievable video as the shots rang out in a Northwest Harris County neighborhood near T.C. Jester and Cypresswood.
The footage of Precinct 4 Deputy Deteryon Fontenot being ambushed with an assault rifle is hard to watch. In the video you see the accused robber stop his truck, with the deputy right behind him. The deputy yells, "Hands up. Hands up."
The gunfire erupted on Slashwood Lane as the deputy chased a man accused of robbing two Academy Sporting Goods stores. Then you see the man pull out an AR15 rifle and open fire.
Danthony Simms-Coleman booked by Harris County pct. 4
The 23-year-old shooter has been identified as Danthony Simms-Coleman. Coleman has been booked into the Harris County Jail for the first-degree felony charge of aggravated assault of a public servant. Constable investigators interviewed him and obtained a full confession on the robberies and the attempted murder of Deputy Fontenot.
SUGGESTED: Suspects allegedly shot at Harris County Pct. 5 assistant chief 9 times, two men on the run
Deputy Fontenot was conducting a felony stop in connection with a series of robberies at Academy retail stores when Coleman led him on a brief vehicle chase. During the stop, Coleman exited his vehicle with an AR-15 rifle and opened fire, striking the deputy and his patrol car.
DASHCAM: Deputy under fire in ambush post-high-speed chase
A dash cam captured the intense moment a Deputy Deteryon Fontenot was ambushed and shot after a high-speed chase
Despite his injuries, Deputy Fontenot managed to return fire and take cover until multiple units arrived and apprehended the suspect.
"As soon as he says put your hands up, put your hands up, the guy unloads on him as the guy is running away," says Ray Hunt with the Houston Police Officer's Union.
"God was looking out for our deputy because the bullet holes were all around where he was standing," adds Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman.
Deputy Fontenot had someone shoot at him at point-blank range with an AR15, and he lived to talk about it.
"About 16 rounds were fired at him, all of them striking the vehicle, several of the shrapnel striking his face, cutting his lip. It's a complete miracle," Hunt says.
Deputy Fontenot was transported to a local hospital, where he received treatment for non-life-threatening facial injuries, and has since been released.
"The first thing that family told our deputies is ‘Thank you for not killing him.’ Our deputies would have every right to kill him dead. He's got a gun. He shot at one of our deputies," Constable Herman adds.
"Anytime you hear someone's been shot at 16 times with an AR-15 at close range you're going to think the worst, and we just had, clearly, an act of God here, and a miracle to keep that deputy from being seriously injured. He did a great job. He got a serious, serious felon off the streets," says Hunt.
FOX 26’s Damali Keith also spoke exclusively with the family of Coleman who say they are deeply concerned about him.
They say the 23-year-old was a star football player in High School in Klein and briefly in college until he suffered a number of head injuries.
Relatives believe those concussions played a role in what they say is a recent change in Coleman. They believe he’s suffering a mental health crisis.
"He’s been dealing with some paranoia for a while. It would sometimes be present and sometimes not, and we haven’t seen D’anthony in person because he would sometimes separate from us for eight or nine months. (Because he was even believing the family might be after him?) Yes, everybody that he came in contact with he was paranoid about that. Even the day he was here he hadn’t eaten for three days before this whole thing happened because he thought, he thinks everybody is trying to poison him," says Coleman's Aunt Latosha Miles.
What are the family's thoughts regarding the deputy who survived the shooting?
"Oh my gosh, we have not stopped praying for him. We are heartbroken. I mean I can’t imagine, none of us can, what he’s going through," says Miles.
You can watch our exclusive interview with Deputy Fontenot tomorrow on FOX 26 News at 5 p.m.