BIG SANDY, Texas — A Big Sandy man was sentenced to prison after attempting to run over his ex-girlfriend.
According to Smith County Criminal District Attorney's Office, a jury sentenced Clinton Ward, 41, of Big Sandy to 20 years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Wednesday.
The DA's Office says on August 16, 2018, Ward stole his mother’s pickup truck and drove to Tyler to the home of his ex-girlfriend.
Prior to stealing his mother’s vehicle, the defendant consumed methamphetamine and alcohol. The evidence showed that the Ward was in Tyler to pick up the victim’s 18-year-old son against the wishes of the victim.
Ward drove the stolen vehicle dangerously through the neighborhood by the TJC campus in Tyler. Blowing through intersections and running red lights, before intentionally ramming the stolen truck into the victim’s oldest son’s Dodge Durango.
Surveillance footage from the campus showed that Ward then turned the stolen truck in the direction of his ex-girlfriend and attempted to run her over with the vehicle on two occasions before running into a retaining wall.
“Based on the surveillance footage retrieved by the Tyler Police Department, the defendant’s truck struck the wall within a few feet of where the victim was standing, and she was very lucky that she wasn’t hit,” prosecutor Noah Coltman, said.
The DA's Office says Ward then exited the vehicle and picked up a large stone knocked loose by the force of the vehicle and held it over his head in a third attempt to injure the victim, but was unable to due to the quick actions of her son who tackled the defendant and held him down until police arrived.
The jury heard evidence of Ward’s behavior toward the victim in the past, as well as the defendant’s criminal history which included a felony conviction for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in 2013, and a criminal trespass conviction in 2015.
The victim of the criminal trespass was the same victim as the aggravated assault.
The jury returned the maximum allowable sentence of 20 years in the case.
