Quindon Harmon (Texas DPS)
AUSTIN, Texas - A man is facing multiple charges after Texas DPS says he T-boned a trooper's patrol vehicle during a pursuit over his torn paper license plate.
29-year-old Quindon Ronnie James Harmon is facing two charges: one count of first-degree felony aggravated assault against a public servant and one count of third-degree felony evading arrest with a vehicle.
He was also charged with a Class B misdemeanor of possessing less than two ounces of marijuana, but jail records show prosecutors have rejected this charge.
What we know:
On Saturday, April 4, just before 9 a.m., a DPS trooper was on patrol in North Austin when he saw a gray 2003 Nissan Maxima with a torn unreadable paper license plate on North Lamar.
He attempted to catch up to the car, but then it began to accelerate and make evasive turns before the trooper could turn on his emergency lights.
While driving on Georgian Drive, the Nissan approached the intersection at Rundberg Lane and sped through the red light, almost causing a crash. The Nissan began to make a U-turn at Rundberg and Slayton Drive and the trooper pursued.
The Nissan began to drive straight, but when the trooper began a U-turn, it turned hard left and T-boned the patrol vehicle on the driver's side, pinning the trooper in.
The Nissan's driver then opened his door and began fleeing the scene on foot. The trooper then rolled his window down, crawled out and gave chase, but lost sight of the driver.
The trooper radioed in that his vehicle had been rammed, and he was in an active foot pursuit, requesting containment and the help of STAR Flight and APD K9s.
During the search, a resident in the 9200 block of Slayton called 911 to report a man running through their front yard. The trooper went to the home and got video from the resident of a Black man wearing a dark-colored shirt and gray shorts, matching the description of the Nissan driver.
APD K9 and STAR Flight joined the search and found the man in another home's backyard. When the trooper arrived, the man was on his knees complying with officer commands. The man was detained and identified as Harmon by his driver's license in his pocket.
A search of Harmon uncovered two clear plastic bags containing marijuana in his pockets.
Harmon initially denied ever being in the Nissan that rammed the trooper, but when confronted with the video of him running through the front yard, eventually admitted he had been evading the trooper because he was scared he didn't have a license plate on the vehicle, says the affidavit.
Harmon pleaded for the trooper to call EMS, but once EMS was called, he said he didn't want to be seen by EMS, says the affidavit.
Harmon also allegedly admitted multiple times to driving the Nissan on the way to Central Booking.
The trooper reported a "stiff pain in the left side of [his] back and neck", presumably from the crash.
What's next:
Harmon is in the Travis County jail as of Monday afternoon on a collective $20,000 bond.
He does not yet have a court date set.
No more paper license plates in Texas
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Say goodbye to paper license plates in Texas
Paper license plates will no longer be issued by car dealers starting July 1.
Dig deeper:
Last July, Texas officially phased out paper license plates.
According to officials, paper license plates were being sold by bogus dealers by the thousands. Many used them to avoid vehicle inspections, toll roads, or to commit crimes.
Officials estimated 1.8 million fraudulent paper plates were on the roads in Texas in 2021.
House Bill 718, passed in 2023, now requires car dealers to issue metal plates. The Texas DMV has created four limited-use metal plates.
Anyone who had purchased a vehicle before July 1, 2025 was given a 60-day grace period, but since then, failure to comply with the new rules could mean fines and other penalties.
The Source: Information in this report comes from Travis County court paperwork and court records and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin