Guilty Verdict In Trial Of Driver Who Intentionally Ran Over Pedestrian
NEW BOSTON, Texas–A Bowie County jury returned a guilty verdict late
Wednesday afternoon in the trial of a man accused of intentionally running
over a pedestrian in a Texarkana church parking lot during a drug-fueled
delusion last year.
Patrick Jerome Cridell Jr., 33, will return to court tomorrow for the
punishment phase of his trial. The jury found that Cridell used a deadly
weapon in the commission of the assault, which increases the amount of time
he must serve before he will be eligible for parole. He faces two to twenty
years in prison.
Cridell was reportedly a user of methamphetamine and had become
increasingly “paranoid” in the days leading up to the assault that left
another man permanently disabled, according to a notice filed by Assistant
District Attorney Katie Carter.
Cridell “swerved” a silver 2011 Kia Forte into the parking lot of Grace
Fellowship Church at 2401 Hazel St. in Texarkana, Texas, shortly after 6
p.m. March 30, 2025, and accelerated before running over a man he did not
know, according to court records.
Cridell falsely believed his daughter had been sexually assaulted and was
driving around Texarkana looking for her, the notice said. Cridell had
approached people, accusing them of having possession of her. Cridell had
allegedly followed other motorists just hours before the assault, leading
to calls to 911 about a suspicious vehicle.
Police in Texarkana, Ark., pulled Cridell over about two hours before the
assault and video from the stop showed some damage to his silver Kia, but
not to the extent it was damaged after the attack in Texarkana, Texas. The
vehicle was found the following day parked in front of a residence not far
from the church.
The wounded man managed to drag himself onto the campus of nearby Highland
Park Elementary School where he was discovered the following day at about 6
a.m.
Investigators with the Texarkana Texas Police Dept. concluded that the
Kia’s driver ran over the man on purpose after reviewing video surveillance
from Texarkana Independent School District which captured the incident,
according to a probable cause affidavit.
Carter is representing the state. Cridell is represented by Vadol Miller.
District Judge Jeff Addison is presiding over the trial.
A sentencing verdict from the jury of seven women and five men is expected
Thursday.