A jury was chosen Tuesday in Bowie County to decide the fate of a former Telford Unit prison guard accused of terrorizing his former spouse.
Richard Greg Turner, called Greg, was a sergeant at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Telford Unit in New Boston, Texas, when he allegedly assaulted his now former-then estranged-wife in May 2013.
Turner’s ex-wife told investigators her ex-husband became enraged when she refused to patch things up, according to a probable cause affidavit. The woman reported that she began to dial 911 when she heard a knock at her door, fearing it was Turner. Turner, 46, is accused of kicking open his former wife’s door, dragging her out of her home by her hair and forcing her to follow his pickup in her car as he drove to his residence.
When the woman tried to get the attention of other drivers, Turner noticed. He is accused of ramming her car from behind with his pickup.
“This caused such extensive damage to her car that smoke began to pour inside and she had to pull over,” the affidavit states.
Turner continued his assault as the woman sat in her disabled car on the side of Interstate 30, the affidavit alleges. Next Turner forced his former wife into his truck and drove to the Red River Bridge. Turner is accused of threatening the woman with a pistol that he kept within arm’s reach while repeatedly striking her in the face and head as he sat parked under the bridge.
The woman told investigators Turner wanted to go to his house because he ran out of alcohol. At his home in Hooks, Turner allegedly threatened a murder-suicide. After learning from co-workers that police were hunting for him, Turner dropped the woman down the street from her apartment where officers were waiting.
Turner was indicted in 2013 for aggravated assault, family violence, with serious bodily injury involving a deadly weapon and for burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit assault. He faces five to 99 years or life in prison if found guilty.
The trial is expected to last at least two days.
