An off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent and other customers disarmed a woman who allegedly brandished a gun inside an El Paso bar over the weekend.
There were no gunshots fired in the Friday night confrontation at the Union Draft House on Tierra Este Road in the far East Side, El Paso police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo said.
A woman, identified as 34-year-old Candice Mason, allegedly threatened customers before being disarmed and detained by patrons at the bar-restaurant, police and Border Patrol officials said Monday.
One of the customers who helped detain the woman was an off-duty supervisory agent with the Border Patrol Special Operations Group, Border Patrol spokesman Agent Ramiro Cordero said.
Police arrested Mason on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful carrying of a weapon in a place that sells alcohol and resisting arrest.
‘She had the gun’
Police officers responding to a call of a person with a gun and “shots fired” arrived to find Mason being held down by several people, according to a criminal complaint on athe resisting arrest charge.
A person handed an officer a gun and several bystanders pointed to Mason, telling police that “she had the gun.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Mason said, while she allegedly kept resisting, pulling her hands away as officers with the help of three other people placed her in handcuffs, the complaint stated.
While in the backseat of a patrol car, Mason was able to get her handcuffed hands in front of her, attempted to break a door handle and hit her head on the cage inside the car, the complaint stated.
She allegedly spit at officers but didn’t hit them when they tried to place the handcuffs behind her back. A “spit sock” to keep her from spitting was placed over her face.
She was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries to her face when she banged her head on the cage in the patrol car, the complaint stated.
The document noted it took six police officers to restrain Mason and as well as her being sedated by paramedics for her to calm down. An El Paso County jail log lists Mason as being 5 feet, 6 inches, and 125 pounds.
El Paso County Jail records show Mason was released from jail on Sunday under a $61,000 bond.
Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan tweeted about the incident Sunday morning. There were no shots fired, police said.
“An off-duty Border Patrol agent disarmed a gunman who fired shots inside an El Paso restaurant,” Morgan stated. “The agent responded quickly — preventing the gunman from harming anyone.
“Whether on or off-duty, USBP agents protect their communities,” Morgan said. “I’m extremely proud of the agent’s heroic actions!”
___
© 2019 the El Paso Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
