An El Paso man was accused and arrested in a wild gun escapade in the Airway Boulevard area where he allegedly threatened people and fired gunshots into the air before crashing his vehicle.
El Paso police arrested John Glen Coates, 43, in an incident on Friday afternoon that began in the Craw Oyster Bar at Airway Plaza and ended in a wreck two miles away at the intersection of Montana Avenue and Hawkins Boulevard, a prosecutor noted at a bond hearing.
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Coates, of the far East Side, was booked on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm, unlawful carrying of a weapon in a prohibited place, and making a terroristic threat.
John Glen Coates was arrested by El Paso police for allegedly threatening people with a handgun and firing gunshots in the Airway Boulevard area of East-Central El Paso on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.
Coates is retired from the U.S. Army, where he served 24 years, and deals with PTSD and other mental health issues, Edward Hernandez, a deputy public defense attorney, noted at a Sunday teleconference bond hearing while asking for a lower bond amount.
“It’s not alleged he actually harmed anybody,” Hernandez said. “He does suffer mental health issues that (are) based on his long-term military service during 20 years of American wars.”
During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney John Briggs commented that Coates could face additional assault charges in publicly dangerous acts that had 911 calls coming in from at least five different locations.
Gun threat allegedly made in El Paso bar
The trouble started Friday afternoon, Nov. 8, inside the Craw Oyster Bar at 1160 Airway Blvd. in the Airway Plaza area of bars and restaurants in East-Central El Paso, Briggs said.
According to a case summary given by Briggs at the hearing, a ruckus started when Coates made a comment about the way someone was dressed and “causes a bit of a commotion” inside the Craw Oyster Bar.
During the argument, Coates allegedly grabbed at his waist telling people that he had a gun. It is against the law in Texas to carry a gun in a bar.
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When the bartender told Coates that he needs to leave, “he tells her she will be the next person to have her brains blown out,” Briggs said, adding that the bartender was placed in fear after she apparently saw the gun tucked into his waistband. The bar manager and other customers escorted Coates out of the bar and called 911.
Right afterward, there was another 911 call about a man with a gun matching Coates’ description arguing with a woman next to the Ojos Locos Sports Cantina nearby in the same plaza.
Gunshots outside Jack in the Box
Those emergency calls were then followed by 911 calls about a person firing a gun up in the air out of a black Jeep Gladiator in the parking lot of the Jack in the Box restaurant at Airway Boulevard and Montana Avenue, Briggs noted. Police found five bullet casings in the parking lot.
A woman then called 911 to report that she was driving in the Montana Avenue and Boeing Drive area when she was almost hit by a Jeep that ran a red light. The woman honked at the other driver, who then allegedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, so she backed off, Briggs said.
Crash at Montana Avenue and Hawkins Boulevard
The Jeep continued eastbound before allegedly running a red light and colliding with another car at the intersection of Montana Avenue and Hawkins Boulevard. The Jeep became disabled in the wreck, Briggs said.
Responding to the emergency calls, police first went to the accident scene, where officers found the crashed Jeep and arrested Coates.
A woman passenger who was with Coates was found by police in the Circle K store at that intersection, Briggs said. The woman told officers that she had been in the accident and that there had been a gun involved. A silver 1911-style handgun was found in her backpack, Briggs said.
Magistrate judge lowers bond amount
Coates was originally jailed on a total bond of $125,000 which at Sunday’s hearing was lowered by Magistrate Judge Antonio Aun to $97,500, including $55,000 under a personal recognizance that doesn’t require money.
The judge ordered several release provisions, including barring Coates from using drugs and alcohol, requiring random drug testing, prohibiting him from possessing any weapons, firearms or ammunition and banning him from coming within 200 yards of the Craw Oyster Bar.
El Paso County Jail records show Coates was released on bond on Sunday.
Airway Plaza is the same location where two people were killed and four others were wounded allegedly by two Fort Bliss soldiers who fired into a crowd outside a bar last year. The capital murder case is currently scheduled to go to trial in February.
An El Paso police patrol car at a crime scene in El Paso, Texas. File art.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man arrested in shooting, gun threats in Airway area
