25 News is taking a deeper dive at the criminal history of Jamison Cavazos, the man accused of shooting Copperas Cove Police Officer Elijah Garretson on Jan. 10.
Cavazos was on probation in Lampasas County, where the sheriff's office said he recently had a probation violation for Engaging in Criminal Activity and was arrested on Aug. 1, 2025 by the Lampasas County Sheriff's Office.
Cavazos also has criminal history in Coryell County.
Criminal history
Dustin Boyd, the 52nd Judicial District Attorney for Coryell County, tells 25 News Cavazos was arrested in Coryell County on June 22, 2025 for:
- Possession of a Controlled Substance (state jail felony)
- Prohibited Substance in a Correctional Facility (3rd-degree felony)
- A second DWI (misdemeanor)
Boyd said his office was working with Lampasas County to sentence Cavazos on his probation violation to prison. Boyd said after sentencing in Lampasas County, Cavazos would have been brought back to Coryell County to be sentenced on his new charges there.
"Before June 22 of 2025, the only history he had with Coryell County was from May 24, 2020 when he was arrested for unlawful carrying of a weapon, a misdemeanor," Boyd said.
Repeated requests for adjudication
Lampasas County District Attorney, Jessica Hanes Guy, tells 25 News that her office had repeatedly asked the court to order Cavazos to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison. But she tells 25 News the court continued his probation and ordered him to attend drug treatment.
The first request came in 2022, after he was put on deferred adjudication by a judge on an Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity charge on Aug. 27, 2021, Hanes Guy said.
In 2023, the Lampasas County DA's office filed a second motion.
"Again, the State requested he be adjudicated, but the Court continued him on probation and ordered additional drug treatment," Hanes Guy said.
The Lampasas County DA's office filed a third motion in 2025.
"On November 7, 2025, Mr. Cavazos pled “true” to an allegation in the motion to adjudicate that he had recently committed the offense of Driving While Intoxicated in Coryell County," Hanes Guy said.
Cavazos was set for sentencing on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, but failed to appear in court. The judge then issued an arrest warrant.
Copperas Cove police officer on-duty death
The following day, on Saturday, Jan. 10, Garreston and two other officers on duty attempted to arrest Cavazos on that warrant. That interaction led to Cavazos fatally shooting Garretson, and fleeing the scene.
Cavazos was later found, engaged in a standoff with law enforcement and ultimately died by suicide, according to Texas DPS.
