End of Watch

Deputy Roland Saenz’s 8-year-old wristwatch was called to duty Dec. 17.

Saenz could say his watch would take a bullet for him.

In fact, it did.

“Luckily, I was wearing it,” Saenz said.

Saenz was one of two Nueces County Sheriff’s Deputies working off duty at the American Bank Center parking garage when a man began shooting at them, Corpus Christi police have said.

Saenz and his partner, Eduardo Nunez, were fully uniformed when they responded to a call about 9:35 p.m. of a man trying to open car doors, authorities said.

The man drew a gun and began firing after the deputies approached him, police said. He shot twice at Nunez. Nunez ducked behind a vehicle, Saenz said. The man then shot twice at Saenz.

Saenz said one shot grazed the ammunition pouch on his belt.

The second hit the Fossil watch on his left wrist as he moved to support his right hand to aim his weapon, he said.

The bullet lodged in the watch, and it didn’t survive. What’s left of it is being held as evidence.

The man fled and stumbled, police said, and appeared to be preparing to fire again as David Gonzalez, who was working as a security guard, kicked the gun from his hand.

Police arrested Todd Meine, 43, on suspicion of two counts of attempted capital murder. He also is wanted on a murder warrant in Missouri, authorities have said. Meine remained jailed in Nueces County on Friday.

Saenz said he felt the bullet strike his watch, but it didn’t hurt. “I didn’t think anything of it,” he said.

The bullet’s impact left some bruising and a part of the outline of the watch.

Saenz, a three-year sheriff’s deputy, was put on light duty at the sheriff’s department Tuesday as a precaution because he also injured his knee.

Saenz said he doesn’t usually wear the Fossil watch when he’s working, because it was more of a casual piece he would wear when he’s off.

Saenz’s watch had been a part of a his and hers set he and his girlfriend, Joyce Perez, bought about eight years ago.

Perez said she considers it a blessing he was wearing the watch.

“It was just, like, ‘Wow,’” she said. “He just had an angel watching over him.”

A Fossil spokeswoman based in New York City said the company provides quality, durable products.

“Obviously, this falls outside the normal expectations for durability, but we are pleased to hear that the officer involved benefited by having one of our products on his arm,” the watchmaker said in a statement.

Capt. David Alaniz of the sheriff’s department’s patrol division said that both deputies acted professionally and that they did what was expected of them in a potentially deadly situation.

Saenz said that it could have ended differently and that he’s glad he and Nunez are alive.

“We’re still here. We went home. That’s all that counts,” he said.

By Elaine Marsilio

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