Sheriff: Men in surveillance images cleared of any wrongdoing in freeway rock-throwing incident

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said the men seen in surveillance images, persons of interest in connection to a rock throwing incident along I-10, have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Sheriff’s deputies say the search continues for the men who damaged cars and injured a person Sunday, November 26, 2017 when they threw rocks at cars on I-10 near mile marker 49 in the Fabens area.

The suspects damaged at least 20 vehicles, including a tractor-trailer truck, deputies said. They were seen riding away in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), sheriff’s office officials said.

An incident report obtained by ABC-7 states at least 12 victims told sheriff’s deputies the suspects threw “baseball-sized” rocks at their vehicles. The victims told deputies the suspects where in the center median when they were throwing the rocks. The report states some of the victims were driving as fast as 75 mph when their vehicles were struck.

Sheriff’s deputies said the vandals caused more than $13,000 in vehicular damage.

ABC-7 spoke with one of the victims over the phone. The man said, “I was looking down the road when I saw rocks fly at me and so I stopped my car and I saw a huge hole where my headlight was and I pulled out a rock “

The victim said he also saw some of the other vehicles attacked and noticed a lot of damage to windshields. “A lady was hit” by one of the rocks, the man said, “I was very upset because (a rock) could have struck windshield and hit my girlfriend or my brother.”

Deputies conducting an investigation were able to obtain surveillance footage from a local convenience store. It shows several men and an all-terrain vehicle at one of the gas pumps.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident or the identity of the men seen in the surveillance images, please contact the Sheriff’s Office at 915-832-4408.