Attempted warrant service ends in Cuero man’s self-inflicted shooting death Friday afternoon

By Clayton Kelley, Staff Writer

A Cuero man is dead of what officials called a self-inflicted gunshot to the head after deputies tried to serve him a felony arrest warrant on Friday afternoon, according a release issued the following day by Sheriff Carl Bowen.

Deputies would not learn of the man’s death nearly five hours, however, because after hearing what was likely the killing shot not long after their arrival at 2119 Von Haefn Road at 3:22 p.m. on Sept. 15, officers took cover as a safety precaution.

Later, however, after learning they could not breach its perimeter, and nobody responded to several attempted contacts to the man inside, local officers sought assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety SWAT Team out of Austin.

With the SWAT team’s help, officers got inside the home and found the deceased shortly thereafter, at about 8 p.m. Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Peggy Mayer was called out to begin the death inquest.

The deceased was identified as David Saldana, 47 of Cuero, who was wanted in connection to child sexual assault investigation, Sheriff Bowen said.

Several agencies turned out to assist the sheriff’s office, including the Cuero Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, Constable Precinct 2, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Department of Emergency Management, Cuero EMS, and specialty teams from the Department of Public Safety (SWAT).

“The DeWitt County Sheriff’s Office would like to express its sincere condolences for those affected by this incident, and we are grateful for all those who assisted during this apprehension attempt,” Bowen said.