Wanted Mexia man turns himself in

On the run from law enforcement since Sunday evening, Lee Erler, 56, of Mexia, turned himself in Monday around 4:30 p.m. to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office and was arrested without incident.

He was charged with aggravated assault date/family/house with weapon and a bond of $75,000 was set.

Erler was allegedly involved in a disturbance at his house Sunday. Mexia police officers were called to the residence in the 600 block of FM 1365, which is outside the Mexia city limits, just after 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2.

Emergency medical personnel also responded and removed a person and transported that individual to Parkview Regional Hospital; that person was listed in stable condition and is expected to recover.

More law enforcement entities responded to the Erler house and searched for him, both on foot and by helicopter and drone, without success.

Limestone County Sheriff’s Office personnel stopped traffic on FM 1365 for several hours, asking drivers to turn around and take a different route into the city.

Besides Mexia PD and LCSO personnel, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, Navarro County Sheriff’s Office, Wortham Police Department and Texas Department of Criminal Justice assisted at the scene.

Limestone County Sheriff Dennis Wilson said Monday his deputies were working with Limestone County Attorney Roy DeFriend to finalize a complete list of charges against Erler.

Initial charges, however, include one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on the person taken to the hospital with injuries; and three counts of aggravated assault on a public servant.

No one else was injured; however, Erler is accused of discharging his weapon when three law enforcement officers responded to the call.

“The aggravated assault on a peace officer is related to the investigation that was ongoing at the time of the incident,” Wilson said. “When somebody’s shooting a gun, that’s a threat.”

The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office is the lead investigating agency in the case, which is ongoing.

In a related matter, while the search was ongoing that night, Bryan Erler, 33, of Hubbard, was arrested for going around the barricaded area.

Wilson confirmed he and his officers declared the area around the Erler house to be secure about 2:15 a.m. He said Monday that after the hours of searching, they knew Erler was no longer in or around the house. Wilson did say he believed Erler is still in the Mexia area.