North Texas bounty hunter, partner charged with murder after boxing in, shooting man in Dallas
A bounty hunter and his work partner are facing murder charges after fatally shooting a man they attempted to take into custody in Old East Dallas, an arrest affidavit revealed.
Rodney Brown, 34, and Jorge Moncivais, 23, were arrested in connection with the shooting death of 33-year-old Drew Knowles, the Dallas Police Department said.
Apprehension gone wrong
According to the arrest affidavit, Brown is a licensed private investigator and bounty hunter. He, along with his partner, Moncivais, claimed they were trying to serve a warrant at Knowles' home on June 26, but Knowles wasn't there.
Brown and Moncivais, who are employed by a security company, told authorities they used an automated license plate reader to help find Knowles' car at 2700 Florence Street in Dallas, where they attempted to box in Knowles' car with their vehicles.
Brown reportedly exited his vehicle with a gun drawn to command Knowles to surrender, and Knowles tried to evade the box-in by driving into Brown's and Moncivais' vehicles, the affidavit said.
Once Knowles was able to get free from the box-in, he tried to speed away, and Brown opened fire. Then, Moncivais exited his car and opened fire too. Knowles was struck multiple times, according to the affidavit.
DPD said at about 8:45 a.m., officers responded to the shooting call near the intersection of Cantegral and Live Oak streets.
When they arrived, officers determined the two suspects, later identified as Brown and Moncivais, followed the victim, Knowles, until he crashed into a light pole at the intersection.
Dallas Fire-Rescue responded and pronounced Knowles dead.
Brown and Moncivais were both taken into custody.
Video shows bounty hunters were not in immediate danger
DPD said Moncivais wasn't wearing any clothing that identified him as a bounty hunter and said Brown was wearing a vest with the writing "warrant services" in the top corner.
After reviewing surveillance video in the area, DPD said Brown and Moncivais were not in danger of being run over as they fired shots at Knowles' vehicle.
"The suspect by firing at the complainant in a moving vehicle intentionally caused his death," the affidavit said.
