Copperas Cove mayoral write-in candidate arrested, in Coryell County jail  

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Devin Marquette Meadows, 29, write-in candidate in the Copperas Cove mayoral race, was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 20 by a Coryell County sheriff’s deputy for impersonating a public servant and aggravated assault with a weapon.

According to the arrest affidavit, the deputy stopped on the U.S. Highway 190 bypass around 8:11 a.m. last Wednesday after he saw a red Corvette with a Texas dealer tag parked on the side of the road for the exit ramp to Old Copperas Cove Road. The Corvette had been tagged for a 48-hour tow by another deputy, after which confirming, the deputy left the scene. He then was dispatched back to the vehicle and was informed that “the owner wanted to talk to a deputy.”

While enroute, the deputy called for a Copperas Cove police unit to back him up. He then met with Meadows, who had arrived via a black GMC pickup.

“When first making contact with Mr. Meadows, he stated that he was with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I asked Mr. Meadows if he wanted a tow truck, and he was very aggressive and hostile,” the deputy stated. “I informed Mr. Meadows that if he kept up being aggressive and hostile, he could call for a tow truck himself. Mr. Meadows would not stop being aggressive and hostile so Lt. Baker from CCPD said she would call for a tow truck to assist Mr. Meadows. I cleared the scene because there were two CCPD officers on scene.”

Then, the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Bill’s Towing, who reported that the driver was being threatened “by a male claiming he was FBI and that if the tow truck driver touched the car the last thing you will see is a gun.”

After arriving back at the scene, the deputy observed two tow trucks from Bill's Towing and Meadows’ two vehicles, the red Corvette and the black GMC pickup. The tow truck driver told the deputy that Meadows had displayed a handgun.

“(The driver) said that when he arrived on the scene no one was around the vehicle. He said as he was hooking up to the Corvette, when a black male arrived in the black GMC pickup and said that he was with the FBI and evidence was in the red Corvette and stated that the car was going straight to All American Chevrolet. (The driver) said that he told Mr. Meadows that the vehicle was going to the impound lot. (The driver) said that he asked Mr. Meadows to show him credentials and Mr. Meadows started pulling paperwork for the car out of the pack he had with him. While doing that Mr. Meadows stated that the next thing, he will pull out will be a pistol.”

At that point, the driver said he felt in fear for his life when Meadows pulled a revolver from his bag and placed it on the hood of the car within an arm's reach and then placed it back in his bag. The driver said that Meadows then reached into the car and pulled out a “blue in color AR 15.”

While he was speaking with the tow truck driver, the deputy stated Meadows started walking toward them and at that time, the deputy unholstered his duty weapon, pointed it at Meadows, and ordered him to lay flat on the ground, upon which Meadows complied.

The deputy said that Meadows said several times that he was the FBI and that the deputy “was screwing up.”

Another deputy informed him later that while transporting Meadows to the county jail, Meadows kept stating that he was with the FBI.

Meadows remains in the Coryell County jail as of Tuesday afternoon on bonds totaling $22,500.