DALLAS — A Texas police officer has been arrested on a murder charge after he fatally shot the driver of a truck reported stolen from a Dallas suburb earlier in June.
Farmers Branch Officer Michael Dunn turned himself in Wednesday night after a grand jury indicted him for murder in the killing of 35-year-old Juan Moreno, officials said Thursday.
A Dallas County grand jury returned the indictment against the Dunn, 43, two weeks after he opened fire on the white pickup Moreno was driving in northwest Dallas. Investigators have said the truck had been reported stolen from the city of Irving, and that police shot into it as Moreno was pulling out of a shopping center parking spot.
Dunn surrendered to police in Seagoville around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and was released from the city jail about an hour later on a $150,000 bond, Seagoville Capt. Steve Davis said.
Farmers Branch Police Chief David Hale said "our hearts go out" to Moreno's family and that Dunn's life "has been forever changed as well."
The internal investigation of Dunn's actions is ongoing and the Farmers Branch department is awaiting information from Dallas police, who conducted the criminal investigation of the shooting, Hale said in a statement.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said the swift indictment demonstrates that "the system can work quickly, fairly, and efficiently."