Murder suspect receiving treatment for self-inflicted gunshot wound following pursuit

BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas (KBTX) - A Brazos County man wanted for the murder of his girlfriend in Bastrop County was chased by law enforcement from Bryan to the Navasota city limits on Wednesday before crashing the vehicle on Highway 6.

Traffic on the highway came to a complete stop for nearly two hours after the pursuit ended on the Brazos County side of the river inside Navasota city limits.

The driver has been identified as Raul Anthony Caballero, 22, who is accused of shooting and killing his 19-year-old girlfriend, Sofia Vera, according to Fox 7 in Austin, who received information from the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office. Her body was found on December 30th alongside a road in Bastrop County, where some of her family lives.

The couple resided in Brazos County and Caballero was in Vera’s Nissan Altima when he was taken into custody, according to law enforcement sources.

The pursuit began just before 1 p.m. near Highway 6 and Harvey Mitchell Parkway in Bryan, according to the Bryan Police Department. The chase continued southbound on Highway 6 through College Station and it ended just before 1:30 p.m. when Caballero crashed near the intersection of Highway 6 and Robert Road.

After several minutes, Navasota police say a SWAT team made contact with Caballero, who was unconscious following an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was taken to an area hospital to be treated for injuries by a medical helicopter.

During the chase, the Navasota police say Caballero collided with a Chevrolet SUV on Highway 6. The SUV’s driver was not injured according to police. The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating that crash. The car was then struck by a patrol unit causing it to crash into a median between the highway and railroad tracks.

Portions of Highway 6 were reopened to traffic just after 3 p.m.

KBTX has reached out to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office for more details on the murder investigation.

Along with Bryan police, multiple agencies were involved in the high-speed chase, including DPS, the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, the College Station Police Department, Navasota Police, and Grimes County Sheriff’s Office.

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