Man charged with attempted murder of Pflugerville officer

Image 1 of 2

An Austin man is in jail for the attempted murder of a Pflugerville police officer. The officer says the man rammed his patrol car and tried to run him over.

Police say early Thursday morning, the patrol officer was on his way back into the city limits when he spotted a vehicle pulling to the side of I-35 near Yager Lane with the hazard lights on.

The officer says he too pulled to the side, thinking the driver, identified as 43-year-old Onofre Urquia needed assistance.

The officer says once he approached the car Urquia turned back into traffic and began doing donuts all across the lanes of 35. He says Urquia then rammed the driver's door of the patrol car.

He did donuts once again and rammed the patrol car a second time on the back portion of the driver's side as the officer took cover. Then, the officer says Urquia drove at him at a high rate of speed attempting to run him over.

Urquia left traveling southbound in the northbound lanes.

Officers traced Urquia to the Ten Oaks Apartments in North Austin. There, they say they found numerous unregistered vehicles displaying the same false license plate agent tag that was on Urquia's vehicle.

Urquia was arrested hours later and is being held in the Travis County Jail on a $250-thousand dollar bond.

Pflugerville police say Urquia has two prior convictions for attempt to commit assault on a public servant and harassment of a public servant.