Gary Joe Bryant was a 49-year-old patrolman with the Giddings Police Department. On October 27, 1996, while investigating a hit-and-run, he located a suspect and attempted to make an arrest. During the confrontation the suspect shot Patrolman Bryant six times, including once in the head with Bryant’s own .45 caliber handgun, which the suspect had taken. The other five shots were fired from the suspect’s .22 caliber weapon. Bryant’s body was found under a pile of leaves in the front yard of a house; his patrol car was located about a mile away.

The suspect, identified as Hector Manuel Nepes Mata-Mota, was arrested October 31, 1996, and was found to be in the United States illegally from Mexico. He was later declared incompetent to stand trial and was deported to an institution in Mexico, so no trial occurred. Patrolman Bryant was survived by his wife, daughter, two sons, a granddaughter, his mother, and two brothers.

Does anyone have memories of Patrolman Bryant, or information about the events around the October 1996 investigation?