Ovilla police find shotgun after failed traffic stop

OVILLA – The Ovilla Police Department found a sawed-off shotgun discarded on the ground about 50 yards from a vehicle they had been trying to stop late last week.

Wednesday night at around 2 p.m. in the area of Cockrell Hill Road and Ashburne Glen, helicopters and police car activity were present when Ovilla police observed a speeding vehicle traveling southbound in the 700 block of Ovilla Road.

As the officer turned around to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, the silver Nissan Altima accelerated and disappeared.

The Ovilla officer found the vehicle crashed in the roadway, airbags deployed, unoccupied in the 300 block of Cockrell Hill Road.

Ovilla police said they believe the vehicle entered the curve too fast and crashed into the ditch/culvert on the side of the road.

The officer searched for the driver on foot and found the loaded, sawed-off shotgun just yards from the vehicle.

Police also found a black handgun on the driver’s floor in the vehicle, loose shotgun shells, a scale with white residue, a Texas ID card and three cell phones.

When assisting officers arrived they established a perimeter and searched for the driver of the vehicle, but did not find the suspect(s).

Officers from the Red Oak, Midlothian, and Glenn Heights Police Departments assisted in the search as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter Air-1.

Ovilla police said this is an ongoing investigation and there is no further information at this time.