A 25-year-old man told an El Paso County Sheriff's deputy he blew through a traffic stop simply because he wanted to feel a rush, an admission that has landed him with a state jail felony charge after his SUV ended up crashing into the desert along a Far East El Paso highway corridor. Christian Esparza was behind the wheel early Saturday, September 5, when a deputy spotted his vehicle traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed near the 14900 block of Montana Avenue and attempted to pull him over.
Instead of stopping, Esparza kept going, according to the Sheriff's Office. KTSM 9 News reports that deputies say Esparza continued eastbound after the attempted stop before eventually losing control of the vehicle. Per KVIA, the vehicle was a blue Audi Q7 that was traveling at roughly 2:59 a.m. when it went off-road into the desert near Montana Avenue, damaging the SUV's front bumper. No injuries were reported in the crash.
He Admitted Wanting the Thrill
Once deputies caught up with him, Esparza did not deny why he ran. He confirmed he did not stop because of the rush, telling the deputy, according to the station's report, that he did not stop because of the rush and that he needed to feel something. He reportedly added that continuing to flee would have been fun and that he would have gone home before dealing with it, and offered a blunter explanation for why he didn't just pull over in the first place: “It's cause I swerved. I should've kept going.”
That kind of explicit admission carries real weight in court. Legal analysis published by the Austin Hagee Law Firm notes that Texas prosecutors pursuing a charge under Penal Code § 38.04 must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a driver knew a peace officer was attempting a lawful detention and deliberately chose to flee anyway — and Esparza's own words to deputies about wanting the rush directly support that intent element.
Why a Traffic Stop Became a Felony
Esparza was charged with evading arrest or detention with a vehicle, a distinction that matters enormously under Texas law. As FindLaw explains, fleeing from a peace officer on foot is typically only a Class A misdemeanor, but using a motor vehicle to flee, absent listed aggravating circumstances, makes the same charge a state jail felony under Penal Code § 38.04 — carrying a statutory penalty of 180 days to two years in state jail and fines up to $10,000.
That's a much steeper exposure than a related but distinct offense. The Law Office of Brent Bowen notes that Texas law separately treats simple failure to yield to emergency signals, without active intent to evade custody, under Transportation Code § 545.421 — a Class B misdemeanor eluding charge that carries up to 180 days in county jail, a fraction of the felony evading penalty Esparza now faces.
Sheriff Warns of Deadly Risk
El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte, who took office in January 2025 after winning the 2024 county election, used the case to issue a broader public warning. Ugarte said evading law enforcement is dangerous and can quickly turn a traffic violation into a potentially deadly situation, adding that fleeing puts the driver, law enforcement personnel and innocent members of the public all at risk. He advised drivers who see emergency lights to slow down and safely pull over rather than continue on.
The reported crash location helps explain how a traffic stop turned into an off-road wreck so quickly. The vehicle went off-road into a desert area near Montana Avenue after the attempted stop.
Booked, Bonded and Awaiting Court
Esparza was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility. Jail records show Esparza was released after posting a $5,000 bond two days later, on September 7.
A separate El Paso evading-arrest case was previously reported by Hoodline, which reported a 7-year sentence for another El Paso driver who fled a late-night traffic stop.
