Van Zandt County, TX - In the morning hours of February 21, 2025, a Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office Deputy responded to a call for a suspicious vehicle located along VZCR 2142 in Van Zandt County. Deputy L. West approached the vehicle and located a person asleep in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle. After numerous attempts to talk with the driver and after identifying himself repeatedly as a Deputy, the driver fled the scene.
Van Zandt County, TX - In the morning hours of February 21, 2025, a Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office Deputy responded to a call for a suspicious vehicle located along VZCR 2142 in Van Zandt County. Deputy L. West approached the vehicle and located a person asleep in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle. After numerous attempts to talk with the driver and after identifying himself repeatedly as a Deputy, the driver fled the scene.
Deputy West pursued the vehicle, and other Deputies as well as a DPS Trooper joined the pursuit. The Canton Police Department and Van Police Department also assisted in bringing the pursuit to a close. The vehicle was stopped on the south service road of I-20 near the 533 mile marker exit.
The driver, later identified as Steven M. Templeton from Montgomery, TX, was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant, Manufacture/Delivery of Controlled Substance in penalty groups 3/4 and 1, and Evading Arrest or Detention with a vehicle, as well as a warrant from Texas Pardon and Parole for Burglary of a Habitation. He is being held on a $125,000 bond at the Van Zandt County Detention Center. This is an ongoing investigation, and Templeton is considered innocent until proven guilty.
His rap sheet reads as:
AGG ASSAULT AGAINST PUBLIC SERVANT 02-21-2025 0 $50,000.00 Surety Bond Van Zandt
MAN DEL CS PG 3/4 >=28G<200G 02-21-2025 0 $25,000.00 Surety Bond Van Zandt
MAN DEL CS PG 1-B >=4G<200G 02-21-2025 0 $25,000.00 Surety Bond Van Zandt
EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH 02-21-2025 0 $25,000.00 Surety Bond Van Zandt
Templeton also has a no bond hold from the Pardon and Parole State of Texas related to a March, 2024 Burglary.
BURGLARY OF HABITATION 03-05-2024 0 No Bond Pardon and Parole State of Texas
Deputy West’s actions, along with the cooperation of partner agencies, successfully placed Templeton in custody. Sheriff Bridger stated, “Since the beginning of the New Year, we have added over half a dozen deputies, allowing a faster response to our citizens’ needs and assuring a safer Van Zandt County.” In addition to the capture of the suspect, all citizens of the County are safe.
It looks like Templeton won't be hitting the streets again anytime soon.