On Sunday, February 7, 2021, at approximately 12:20 a.m, officers with the Brownwood Police Department were dispatched to a residence in the 1100 block of San Benito regarding a report of a possible domestic disturbance.

Upon arrival, Sergeant Art Shannon spoke with the homeowner in the front yard.  The homeowner explained that he was woken up by the sound of loud banging coming from his son’s room.  The victim entered the hallway and immediately smelled smoke inside the house.  He also observed thick smoke floating in the hallway.  The victim yelled for his son; wanting to know what was on fire and the son replied, “You, I’m burning you!”  Upon hearing this, the victim exited the residence and phoned 911.  The son was identified as 51 -year-old Joe Richard Cadena Jr.

Sgt. Shannon, and other officers approached the front door of the residence to check on Cadena.  As they made it to the front porch, Cadena exited the front door, holding a large hunting/survival knife.  Cadena was disarmed and placed in handcuffs for everyone’s safety.  Also located on Cadena was a used glass tube consistent with being used as a smoking pipe.  This device is commonly used to smoke methamphetamine.  Cadena also appeared to be under the influence of an illegal substance, methamphetamine.

Brownwood Fire Department firefighters entered the residence and observed several boxes of clothing and cloth material smoldering.  No active flames were visible.  The items were removed, and the home made safe for investigation.

Based on the information gathered, Cadena was arrested for Arson and transported to the Brown County Jail.

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On Saturday, February 6, 2021, at approximately 11:35 p.m., Brownwood Communications received a 911 call from a motorist who explained that he and his friend were driving a pickup and being shot at while driving down the road.  Brownwood Police officers began traveling in the direction of the Brownwood Middle School in an attempt to locate the caller and suspect.  The caller continued to update Communications of their location as they continued drove toward the Brownwood Police Department.  While on the phone, the victim stated that the driver of the suspect pickup was still firing bullets at them.

In the 2800 block of US Hwy 377S, Officer Kristobal Salazar observed the described vehicles traveling northbound at a high rate of speed.  Officer Salazar initiated a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle and detained and identified the driver as 46-year-old Mustafe Thaqi of Brownwood.  A 9mm pistol was located on the front seat of Thaqi’s vehicle.

Two adult male victims were identified in the victim vehicle.  They were interviewed and several bullet holes were observed on their pickup.

At the conclusion of the investigation, Thaqi was arrested for two counts of Aggravated Assault w/a Deadly Weapon and transported to the Brown County Jail without further incident.