BRYAN, Texas (KRHD) — Joe Ruiz was sentenced to 20 years in prison on May 8, 2025, after a Brazos County jury found him guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in a violent 2019 incident that left multiple people injured.
The sentence, the statutory maximum for the offense, was handed down in the 272nd District Court after Ruiz admitted guilt ahead of the punishment phase of the trial.
The jury had previously determined on Jan. 29 that Ruiz used his vehicle as a deadly weapon in a way that could have caused death or serious bodily injury—requiring him to serve at least half of his sentence before parole eligibility.
According to prosecutors, the incident occurred in the early morning hours of March 9, 2019, after Ruiz was involved in a bar fight in downtown Bryan. Following the altercation, in which he was struck in the head with a glass bottle, Ruiz allegedly retaliated by driving his Mercedes into a crowd of bystanders.
Eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage showed Ruiz backing his vehicle into the crowd and then accelerating toward them, striking several people and sending some into the air. Two victims sustained critical injuries. After the incident, Ruiz fled and attempted to hide the car in his backyard under a sheet between two trees.
Bryan Police Department Detective Candido Amaya led the investigation.