K9 helps Coryell deputies capture wanted suspect after Copperas Cove assault

A K9 track and a citizen tip helped Coryell County deputies corner a wanted man in Copperas Cove after an assault call turned into a search for a suspect authorities said may have been armed and dangerous.

Deputies with the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division were sent to the scene about 3:11 p.m. on April 25 after a reported assault in progress. By the time officers arrived, the suspect, identified as Ralph Thomas Deharde, had fled. The sheriff’s office said Deharde had an active felony blue warrant out of Pardon and Parole, which raised the urgency of the search.

K9 Drago was deployed immediately as deputies began tracking Deharde through the area. The search widened about 3:51 p.m. when a concerned citizen called dispatch to report seeing a man matching Deharde’s description coming out of the woods near Lutheran Church Road and Duncan Road. Deputies reached that area within eight minutes and kept sweeping the neighborhood, where the search moved into a densely populated residential area with homes close together.

Officials said Deharde was spotted walking through the neighborhood and was confronted by a marked patrol unit and a uniformed deputy. He kept running and tried to move toward several homes. Drago was released after Deharde crossed a fence onto private property, and the sheriff’s office said Deharde then put both hands in his waistband and ignored commands to stop. Drago engaged at that point and prevented him from fleeing farther.

Deharde was taken into custody with minor injuries and charged with admin release violation tied to the blue warrant and evading arrest or detention. The sheriff’s office later said Drago suffered a line-of-duty injury to a left bottom tooth, described as a canine tooth, during the arrest and was treated at Coryell Vet, also identified as Coryell Veterinary Clinic, in Gatesville. The department thanked the clinic for seeing the dog on short notice and said its K9 unit works “tirelessly” to protect the public, while also crediting residents who called in what they saw.

The Coryell County Sheriff’s Office operates from its headquarters at 510 Leon Street in Gatesville and its Copperas Cove annex at 210 South 1st Street, a reminder of how quickly a routine assault call can turn into a fast-moving manhunt in a neighborhood where public safety depends on both trained deputies and alert neighbors.