A Texas district attorney is under congressional scrutiny after a violent offender, released on bail, went on a shooting spree targeting San Antonio law enforcement officers.
Brandon Poulos, who had been arrested days earlier for assaulting two elderly individuals and crashing his vehicle while intoxicated, allegedly fired at seven San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) officers during a standoff. Poulos barricaded himself inside an apartment complex for hours before being killed by a SWAT team.
Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy is demanding answers from Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales, a Democrat backed by liberal billionaire George Soros, regarding Poulos’ release. Roy raised concerns about lax criminal justice policies that put law enforcement and residents in danger.
“This incident appears to be another example where lax criminal justice policies, including bail reform, have threatened the safety of Bexar County residents and our law enforcement officers,” Roy wrote in a letter to Gonzales.
Poulos had been arrested on January 18 for assaulting an 81-year-old woman and an 83-year-old man before being released on a $35,000 bond the following day. Three days later, he allegedly staged a fake suicide-in-progress call on January 22 to ambush responding officers, wounding one in the leg and injuring six others before being neutralized by law enforcement.
Gonzales, who took office in 2019 and was re-elected in 2022, has received more than $2 million in Soros-connected donations through organizations such as the Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC and the Texas Organizing Project, according to the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund. Soros has openly advocated for lenient prosecutors who favor reduced bail and alternative sentencing.
Roy is demanding Gonzales clarify what measures his office is taking to prevent violent offenders from reoffending due to lenient bond policies. The congressman also wants to know why prosecutors did not seek to confine Poulos despite his violent history and violation of a “no contact” order immediately after his release.
The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has not responded to requests for comment.
