East Texas Man Convicted in Game Warden Assaults

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AUSTIN — A man arrested last fall for assaulting two Texas game wardens following a high-speed pursuit in Limestone County has been convicted of four felonies in connection with the case.

Two game wardens had been on routine patrol early on the morning of Oct. 5, 2013 in McLennan County looking for illegal road hunting when they attempted to stop a vehicle they had seen operating on a public road without headlights. The driver of the vehicle rammed the state vehicle the two wardens were in, but both vehicles were still drivable.

The driver of the suspect vehicle left the scene and the wardens gave pursuit. During that pursuit, someone in the fleeing truck shined a bright light into the eyes of the wardens and their vehicle went off the roadway, striking a culvert. Both game wardens were injured, one requiring hospitalization.

Taken into custody by local and state officers two days later was Teddy Wayne Davenport, 44. He was arrested in a wooded area two miles southeast of Teague in Freestone County and booked into the Limestone County jail, since the assaults had occurred in that county.

A Limestone County jury found Davenport guilty on Friday of four felony charges: Two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (a first-degree felony), burglary of a building (third-degree felony), felony evading arrest (third-degree felony).

The jury then considered punishment and assessed Davenport with a 50-year prison term for each of the aggravated assault counts and 10 years for each of the third-degree felony counts. The terms will run concurrently.