This week, a Brazos County district court jury convicted 33 year old Rafael Ginn of Bryan for the aggravated assault of officer Joel Bravo.
Then the judge sentenced Ginn to 90 years.
Police chief Eric Buske, who was among those in the courtroom during this week’s trial, thanked the jury, judge, and prosecutors for their work…and the community for its support.
Click below for comments from Eric Buske, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver:
The officer was shot shortly after an armed robbery of the Stripes convenience store at South College and Carson. Ginn is awaiting trial on charges related to the robbery.
Ginn, who was not initially arrested for shooting the officer, was indicted by a grand jury ten months later…in September 2017.
From the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
Rafael Ginn, 33, of Bryan, was sentenced to 90 years in prison today by 361st District Judge Steve Smith after a jury convicted him of Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant. The charge stemmed from Ginn shooting a Bryan Police Officer in 2016.
On December 22, 2016, a Robbery occurred at the Stripes convenience store located in the 2000 block of South College Avenue in Bryan. Officer Joel Bravo of the Bryan Police Department, along
with numerous other officers, responded to investigate. For more than half an hour, Officer Bravo canvassed the neighborhood near the intersection of Carson and S. College looking for suspects.
Shortly before 2:00 a.m., Officer Bravo, along with Officer Alex Markantes, located a man in a light blue jacket, black shoes, and black gloves walking near the intersection of S. College and Duncan. When the officers stopped their cars to speak with the man, he fled up a nearby alley. Officer Bravo drove his car into the alley to pursue the man, at which point the suspect pointed a gun at Officer Bravo’s car and opened fire through the windshield.
A bullet struck Officer Bravo in the chest, causing injuries, but did not penetrate his bulletproof vest. Despite being shot, Officer Bravo continued advancing toward the suspect, who fled down a connecting alley, shooting as he ran. Officers Bravo and Markantes lost sight of the suspect, but believed he fled to the Southwest.
Five minutes after Officer Bravo was shot, Officers Corbin Seawell and Marcelo Maldonado responded to the intersection of Duncan and Miller streets, two blocks Southwest of the shooting. The officers heard some nearby dogs barking and decided to check the area. Officer Seawell found Rafael Ginn hiding in the rear floorboard of his Chevrolet Suburban, which was parked near the intersection of Duncan and Miller.
Ginn was covered in sweat and wearing a black glove. Officers ordered Ginn not to move, but Ginn jumped out of the Suburban and ran. Officers Maldonado and Seawell tackled Ginn and a brief
physical struggle ensued. During the struggle, Ginn attempted to grab Officer Seawell’s rifle. Ginn was eventually subdued by Officers Seawell, Maldonado, Steven Laughlin, and Billy Dunford.
A subsequent search of Ginn’s Suburban revealed a .45 handgun hidden in the passenger seat. In the rear floorboard where Ginn was hiding police found a single black glove and Ginn’s cell
phone. Also in the vehicle were shoes consistent with the shooter’s. Just outside the vehicle, officers found a pair of jeans resembling the shooter’s. Attached to the jeans was a holster for a firearm.
Yards away from the Suburban, police found the shooter’s light blue jacket. Inside the jacket was the mate to the black glove found in the car with Ginn.
The DPS Crime lab in Austin determined that shell casings found at the crime scene had been fired from the gun in Ginn’s Suburban. Additionally, a bullet that struck a vehicle near Officer Bravo
was forensically linked to the gun.
Bryan Police detective Steven Fry took samples from Ginn’s hands that, when analyzed at the lab, revealed a substantial amount of gunshot residue.
Additionally, DNA consistent with Ginn was found on the jacket, gloves, and gun.
Detective Fry also obtained a search warrant for Ginn’s cell phone. The resulting search of that phone revealed a video that Ginn shot of himself on December 17, 2016, five days before the
shooting. In the video, Ginn is holding the same .45 caliber handgun found in the Suburban. Also visible on the video was a holster identical to the one located near the Suburban.
During the punishment phase of Ginn’s trial, prosecutors presented evidence of Ginn’s previous criminal conduct, including multiple incidents of domestic violence and Burglary of a Habitation.
Prosecutors also called an official from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who testified that, while in prison in 2010, Ginn was confirmed as a member of the Crips criminal street gang.
A resident of a home that was in the path of Ginn’s gunfire was called during the punishment phase of the trial to talk about how she feared for her family’s safety due to Ginn’s actions. The
woman’s vehicle, which was parked inches from her house, was struck by Ginn’s gunfire.
Officer Bravo sustained only minor injuries thanks to his ballistic vest. He continues to serve with the Bryan Police Department.