LUBBOCK, Texas — A man who confessed to trying to hit a Deputy US Marshal with his car in Northwest Lubbock, Gerardo Avila, 45 at the time of his arrest, was sentenced to 8 years in federal prison on Thursday.
Avila previously agreed to plead guilty to Assaulting a Federal Officer with Intent to Commit Another Felony.
US Marshals with the North Texas Fugitive Task Force Team were watching Avila’s home in December. Avila, a convicted sex offender who was previously arrested during the Lubbock Police Department’s “Operation Lubbock Tornado” in 2022, had “warrants out for his arrest,” according to federal court documents.
Federal court records said when authorities tried to take Avila into custody, he “immediately put the vehicle in reverse as if to back into the garage, then he turned the vehicle toward [a US Marshal] and drove at him with his vehicle.”
The deputy jumped out of the way and the task force chased after Avila. Court records said, “Avila erratically drove through people’s yards and doubled back through traffic in an unsafe manner.”
Court documents said the pursuit was called off due to safety concerns, but Avila was later taken into custody after a hit-and-run crash.
Once he gets out of prison, Avila will be on supervised release for three years. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
