CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A man accused of shooting a Corpus Christi police officer pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder Thursday morning, according to the Nueces County District Attorney's Office.
Joshua Powell was accused of opening fire on police officers responding to a Corpus Christi disturbance call in August 2021.
Sentencing in the case is set for Tuesday, August 9.
On August 4, 2021, exactly one year ago, Corpus Christi police were called to the 5900 block of Weber Rd. for a disturbance in progress. When they arrived, police said Powell opened fire on the officers, striking one several times.
The officer who was struck was identified as Senior Officer Manuel Dominguez. He was taken to CHRISTUS Spohn Shoreline Hospital for treatment in the ICU. Dominguez was a 20-year veteran of the Corpus Christi Police Department at the time of the shooting.
Powell was able to escape the crime scene and a large manhunt followed. $20,000 in reward money was offered to anyone who could help find him at the time. Powell was found just over 24 hours later at a local apartment complex.
Dominguez later filed a lawsuit seeking over one million dollars in relief in relation to the shooting.
Among those listed in the suit is Powell, but also the prior owners of the apartment complex itself where the incident took place.
The officer's attorney, Rob George with Liles White Firm, claimed that the shooting should have been foreseeable and that the prior owners of the complex allowed criminal activity to occur without action for years.
The complex tried, and failed, to get the lawsuit dismissed.
In a statement released to 3News, the law firm representing officer Dominguez said:
The Liles White law firm is honored to represent Officer Dominguez and other first responders and community servants. We are glad that Judge Vargas denied the motion to dismiss and allowed Officer Dominguez’s lawsuit to move forward against potentially responsible defendants, including the prior owners of this apartment complex with history of criminal activity. We look forward to a jury of Officer Dominguez’s peers deciding who was responsible for his injuries.
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