Slain Caldwell County deputy constable remembered at funeral service

AUSTIN, Texas - Law enforcement officers from across Texas gathered at Austin's Shoreline Church for the memorial service honoring Caldwell County deputy constable Aaron Armstrong.

Armstrong was shot and killed outside a North Austin club on Jan. 4. Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with the events of that night.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: Off-duty deputy constable deadly shooting: 2 men arrested

What they're saying:

Described as a big man with a big heart, Armstrong joined the Caldwell County Pct. 3 Constable's Office in 2024 after serving with the Smithville Police Department.

Constable Michael Bell was among the first to speak at the memorial service.

"Aaron made the ultimate sacrifice, given his life and service to others. His courage and selflessness are a reminder of the risk, and the risk of our deputies face every day and the bravery it takes to stand in harm's way for the sake of others," said Constable Bell.

As the judicial process has begun, family members are still grappling with the loss.

"I still can't believe my brother's gone. I'm still in denial. Hopefully in the coming days it will sink in. His friends have been constantly coming up to me, and telling how much Aaron has meant to them, what he's given, and how he's helped people," said Armstrong’s brother Jason.

A pipe and drum corps took the service outside,  where traditional honors were made. The flag over Armstrong’s casket was folded and given to his family. 

During the service, his sister-in-law read several of the comments that had been written on social media sites.

"Another post that someone had put said that Aaron gave freely of himself. He let friends, kids wrestle and roughhouse with them, taught them gun safety, shared his love of guitars and music. He offered his time, his knowledge, and anything else that he had to people he cared about. He was the one you could count on, no matter the ask," said Tiffany Armstrong.

The ceremony included a rifle salute, a riderless horse, a missing man formation fly-over and a final dispatch.

"Badge number 2305 is officially retired. Deputy Aaron Armstrong, 2305, 1042," said a dispatcher on a broadcast heard at the gathering.

The motorcade to Armstrong’s gravesite in Belton rolled through Round Rock.  Several on-ramps to Northbound I-35 were closed. Some motorists got out of their cars to watch as the long procession passed by.

Caldwell County deputy constable killed; two men charged

The backstory:

Armstrong was shot and killed on Jan. 4 outside Club Rodeo at 9515 N. Lamar Boulevard.

APD responded to an "assist agency hotshot call" at the club just after 2 a.m. that night, according to court paperwork.

When officers arrived, they were flagged down by pedestrians in the parking lot and pointed towards two parked cars where they found a uniformed deputy constable, later identified as Armstrong, on the ground. A bystander had started a tourniquet and told police they had seen at least one gunshot wound to his upper right arm.

The bystander told police that a man had been in an altercation inside the bar and was escorted out by the deputy. The man left the parking lot, but then returned and was told by the deputy that if he kept causing issues, he would go to jail.

The man appeared agitated and was held back by two other men and a woman.

The bystander said the man had retrieved a gun from one of the cars. An expletive was yelled and the bystander said he heard a gunshot. He helped the deputy constable to the ground and began life-saving measures, including the tourniquet.

He told police that he saw another man, not the shooter, get into one of the cars and try to leave. He told the bystander he didn't want anything to do with this and wanted to leave. Despite the bystander's protests, the man got in the car and reversed over the deputy constable's arm with one tire.

The bystander prevented him from doing it to the deputy constable's other arm and yelled at him that he was running him over. The car then drove off.

Officers were able to identify the sedan he was driving through a social media post, which showed a license plate not belonging to the sedan. Officers also determined two other vehicles had been involved; two of the three vehicles did not have license plates.

Officers did a traffic stop on the sedan for not having a license plate and matching the description of the vehicle that had fled the scene and run over the deputy constable's arm.

The driver of the sedan told police he was parked at Club Rodeo but left because he heard gunshots. However, footage from Armstrong's body camera showed him as one of the men holding back the shooting suspect. He also matched the description given to police by the bystander.

The charges

38-year-old Thomas Vences has been charged with capital murder of a peace officer for shooting Armstrong and is being held in the Travis County Jail on $2 million bond for that charge.

He is also facing four other unrelated felonies and one misdemeanor:

• Third-degree felony assault on a family or household member with previous conviction (from 2017); bond set at $17,500
• Second-degree felony burglary of a habitation (from 2024); bond set at $10,000
• Second-degree felony burglary of a habitation (from 2020); bond set at $17,500
• Third-degree felony assault on a family or household member with previous conviction (from 2019); bond set at $17,500
• Misdemeanor criminal trespass (from 2024); bond forfeited, set at $2,500

22-year-old Ronaldo Ernesto Colindres-Simon has been charged with second-degree felony assault on a peace officer for running over Armstrong's arm and is being held in the Travis County Jail on $100,000 bond.

Vences has a court date for the capital murder charge set for Feb. 17.

Colindres-Simon will be in court on the assault charge on Feb. 2.

Dig deeper:

Armstrong was the first fallen Central Texas officer to be honored in some way Tuesday.

Later that same day, Copperas Cove officers escorted the body of one of their own back home from Temple.

Ofc. Elijah Garretson was killed in the line of duty on Jan. 10. Funeral services have not yet been announced.

AustinCaldwell CountyCrime and Public Safety