A heavy law enforcement presence descended on a Speedway convenience store in Fabens, Texas, Thursday after a man being pursued by multiple agencies allegedly tried to carjack a woman at the gas pumps. Video from the scene showed the woman sobbing uncontrollably as officers and a helicopter converged on the property just off Interstate 10.
According to KTSM 9 News, the man was being chased by multiple law enforcement agencies when he allegedly attempted to carjack the woman at the gas station, a claim that circulated via a social media post from the scene. Footage showed a man recording the encounter, trying to reassure the distraught woman as officers moved around the property. El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputies told the outlet they assisted the Texas Department of Public Safety with the pursuit, though authorities had not released additional details about the incident, including the suspect's identity or what led to the chase, as of Thursday's report.
Federal, State and County Agents All Converge
The response brought together an unusual mix of federal, state and county law enforcement at a single rural gas station. U.S. Border Patrol agents were present at the Speedway alongside Texas Department of Public Safety officers and El Paso County Sheriff's Office personnel, all working the same scene as a helicopter flew overhead. That kind of overlap is not unusual in far eastern El Paso County — the Border Patrol maintains a dedicated station in Fabens and routinely coordinates with state troopers and county deputies on emergency calls along the border highway corridor, according to the Southern Border Communities Coalition.
Fabens itself is an unincorporated community roughly 26 to 32 miles southeast of downtown El Paso, sitting along I-10 in a stretch of the county where sheriff's deputies and state troopers do most of the day-to-day policing rather than a municipal department. The Speedway where the incident unfolded sits at 1790 N. Fabens Road, directly off the interstate, giving both potential fleeing suspects and responding officers rapid highway access.
What Charges Could Follow
Texas law has no standalone “carjacking” statute. Taking a vehicle by force or threat is instead prosecuted as robbery under Texas Penal Code § 29.02 or as aggravated robbery under § 29.03, with simple robbery carrying a second-degree felony sentence of 2 to 20 years and aggravated robbery carrying 5 to 99 years or life, per the law firm Deandra Grant Law. If the suspect fled from officers in a vehicle, that alone can be charged separately: under Texas Penal Code § 38.04, using a car to evade a peace officer elevates the offense from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison, according to Brian Foley Law. Prosecutors can pursue both sets of charges arising from the same incident.
It remains unclear whether the man in Thursday's incident has been taken into custody or formally charged, since authorities had not released further details at the time of KTSM's report. The episode adds to a string of recent high-profile law enforcement actions in the small border community: in February, KFOX-TV reported that sheriff's deputies arrested a 36-year-old wanted fugitive in Fabens after a pursuit that topped 100 mph on I-10, and in January, KTSM reported deputies arrested a 19-year-old in Fabens following a fatal shooting that began when an injured victim sought help in the community.
Highway-Adjacent Stores a Recurring Target
Gas stations sitting close to interstate on-ramps have repeatedly proven vulnerable to sudden robberies and vehicle thefts because they offer suspects an immediate escape route, a pattern Hoodline has documented in other cities. The dynamic mirrors what played out in Fabens, where the Speedway's direct frontage on I-10 put both the alleged victim and responding agencies within a short sprint of the highway.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
