Assaulted Policeman Still in ICU
El Paso policeman Jonathan Molina remains on life support in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, his brother says.
Mauricio Molina tells ABC7 the officer’s family is still hopeful Molina will recover.
“I know he’ll never be the same,” Mauricio Molina said. “But I hope he’ll be able to walk again.”
El Paso police say Molina was off duty in the early evening of Sept. 25, when he caught a teenager scratching his car with a key.
Details in the affidavits reveal that Molina saw a teen identified as Juan Antonio Gomez “keying” Molina’s car.
Molina followed Gomez, along with 17-year-old Juan Antonio Gonzales and 19-year-old Alan Medrano to a home at 4120 Trowbridge.
Molina confronted Gomez and identified himself as a police officer.
Affidavits state Molina was talking to Gomez when Gonzalez stepped between the pair.
Gonzalez punched the officer in the face and then grabbed his legs and threw him to the concrete.
An affidavit states Gonzalez then got on top of Molina and continued to punch him in the face.
When witnesses approached the scene, the teenagers fled.
Molina was taken to University Medical Center in critical condition.
His injuries include a fractured skull with bilateral subdural hemorrhaging with high inner cranial pressure and multiple facial fractures.
After a man hunt throughout Central El Paso neighborhoods, the three teen suspects were apprehended.
Alan Medrano is charged with evading arrest. He posted bond hours after his arrest.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez is charged with aggravated assault against a public servant.
Jail records indicate a teen named Juan Antonio Gomez remains in the El Paso County Jail, charged with evading arrest. Police have not confirmed that this is the same teen involved in the Molina beating.
Molina is a 2001 graduate of El Paso High School where he played football.
His brother says Molina joined the Marines after he felt a calling following the September 11th attacks.
Molina served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He graduated near the top of his class at the police academy and joined the EPPD force four years ago.
Molina is not married and does not have children.
