The man accused of severely injuring Lubbock Police Officer Corey Owens was re-arrested Thursday and booked just after noon in to the Lubbock County Detention Center. Jesse Anthony Tello, 19, was held in lieu of a $200,000 bond for aggravated assault.
He was arrested shortly after a crash early Saturday morning near 4th and Flint Avenue. He posted bond on a charge of intoxicated assault to be released. Then he was re-arrested for the more serious charge.
After the crash, Owens was taken to University Medical Center in critical condition. His condition improved this week but UMC can no longer provide information because Owens was listed as a security patient.
According to official records, Officer Owens’ right foot was amputated four to six inches below the knee.
Court documents filed Wednesday said after the crash Tello could not recite the alphabet from L through R. The documents also said Tello had bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on his breath.
Court records also said Tello did not have a driver license, but only a Texas ID card.
Fellow officers found Owens laying face-down on the roadway after the crash. He was unconscious at first. As he regained consciousness, he did not know where he was. Officer Owens also did not know his own name, according to court records.
One witness told police that she estimated Tello was driving a car “68 or 70” miles per hour. Data recovered from Tello’s car indicated the speed was 71 miles per hour at the moment of the crash. The speed had been even higher in the moments before the crash.
Tello’s car hit Owens’ police unit. Owens was not in the vehicle, but was instead out directing traffic.
Among Owens’ injuries, his foot was crushed between the street curb and his own police unit during the collision.
Police were able to obtain surveillance video from a nearby Texas Tech building. It showed the crash, according to court records.
The court records filed Wednesday described what happened after Tello’s car hit the police car.
They said, “The front end of the Ford [police unit] spun 180 degrees and struck Ofc. Owens, crushing his right foot against the curb of the median and sending his body sliding across the median, knocking Ofc. Owens unconscious.”
A fund has been set up for Owens and his family at any location of Peoples Bank.