Ashley Khamtrashyan
Assistant Editor
Texas A&M University-San Antonio police arrested a student Oct. 11 on campus on a charge of deadly conduct after a man told police the student pointed a gun at him when the two were involved in an incident on Loop 410 near campus.
Xavier Raynard Cooper, 35, was arrested after Jose Lorenzo Gonzales called police to report a 2020 Dodge Durango ran him off the road on south Interstate Loop 410 near the University Way exit.
Gonzales had slowed the speed of his Toyota Sequoia truck to avoid other slowed traffic as a semi truck entered the freeway, according to a University Police Department report, which The Mesquite obtained Nov. 2 after filling an open records request Oct. 19.
That resulted in Cooper, who Gonzales said was driving erratically, forcing Gonzales off the road and moments later pointing a gun at him, according to the report.
Gonzales told police that Cooper pointed a gun at him through the window as Gonzales’ truck approached the Durango.
Gonzales said he followed the SUV to Lot 2 B, where Cooper exited his vehicle and pulled up the front of his pants, a gesture that Gonzales said he interpreted as Cooper carrying a firearm, according to the report.
Once located in classroom 218 of the Central Academic Building, Cooper was arrested and admitted to having a .45-caliber pistol in his backpack, according to a police report.
Contacted by The Mesquite Nov. 29, Cooper said he never pulled a gun on Gonzales.
“I was driving excessively,” Cooper said. “But it was my phone in my hand.”
Cooper said in a statement to police he was only holding his cell phone to switch songs on his playlist.
Cooper told police he did not point a weapon at anyone because the weapon was in his backpack.
Cooper’s attorney, Anton Paul Hajek, questioned Gonzales’ action in the incident in an interview Nov. 29.
“This man went out of his way to follow my client to his school for this,” Hajek said. “He may have overreacted, I don’t know.”
According to the police report, Cooper is a current student at A&M-San Antonio and his license plates were located and matched as the registered owner to the A&M-San Antonio parking pass for the vehicle. Cooper also has an active license to carry.
“I am a combat veteran,” Cooper said. “I constitutionally have a right to own a gun and I have my license to conceal carry. The situation is controversial, but I am listening to what my attorney has to say.”
According to a Bexar County Courts record, Cooper’s bond was set at $3,500. Hajek says he has been released since October and his pre-trial conference is scheduled for Jan. 27.
“This is one of the most bogus cases I have ever dealt with,” Hajek said. “The whole thing is unnecessary.”
“I do not have an understanding of what is going on,” Cooper said. “I just drove to school like a normal day and this happened to me.”
If convicted of the Class A misdemeanor, Cooper faces a maximum of one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
