by ANDY SEVILLA
A Hays County grand jury indicted a San Marcos cop couple Thursday on charges stemming from a road rage incident last November. One of them is accused of shooting a gun at a vehicle and a home.
San Marcos police Det. Kathy Misiaszek, and her husband, retired San Marcos police Sgt. Dan Misiaszek, were arrested and released Thursday from the Hays County Jail on charges of deadly conduct, records show.
According to the indictments, on Nov. 23, Kathy Misiaszek, 52, ran her car into another vehicle occupied by driver Calvin Guthrie and a passenger, Timothy Young, while traveling on Ranch Road 12 between San Marcos and Wimberley. Dan Misiaszek, 50, then shot a firearm at the vehicle and in the direction of a residence, the indictments state.
The document does not say who owns or occupies the home in the Rancho Encino subdivision that Misiaszek is accused of firing on, but appraisal district records show the owner
The documents do not say why Dan Misiaszek allegedly fired on the home in the Rancho Encino subdivision. Appraisal district records show the home is owned by two people who are not mentioned in the indictment.
Indictment by a grand jury means there is enough evidence to support the charge to warrant a trial, not that the defendants are guilty.
Dan Misiaszek is charged with third-degree felony deadly conduct, punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of no more than $10,000. Kathy Misiaszek is charged with two Class A misdemeanor deadly conduct charges, each punishable by a fine up to $4,000 and up to a year in county jail.
The city put out a press release shortly after the incident saying a current and former police police offer were involved in an episode of road rage, but law enforcement sources have otherwise been tight-lipped. Police Chief Howard E. Williams did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.
Hays County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe said her office has recused itself from prosecution of the case and that a special prosecutor will be named. The case was presented to the grand jury by Travis County assistant district attorney Greg Cox.
Dan Misiaszek declined to discuss the case. He is out of jail on a $40,000 bond; his wife was released on two $5,000 bonds, according to jail records. Kathy Misiaszek is currently on administrative duty at the police department, city spokesperson Melissa Millecam said.
A private investigation firm presumably working for the Misiaszeks placed an advertisement in the San Marcos Mercury in December that suggested they were being ‘railroaded’ on the charges and asked for witnesses to come forward.
Records state that Dan Misiaszek was arrested in October 2010 on two counts of assault causing bodily injury, but the charges were later dismissed in Hays County Court at Law No. 1. Kathy Misiaszek was previously charged with Class B misdemeanor theft by check, but that charge was also dismissed in Hays County Court at Law No. 1, records state.
