Ricardo Pineda, 33, of Tyler sits in the 241st District Court Thursday on the third day of his trial. Pineda was charged with aggravated assault of a peace officer after law enforcement said he shot at a deputy and fled the area to Arkansas where he was arrested two weeks later and extradited back to Smith County. LOUANNA CAMPBELL/STAFF

A Smith County jury found a Tyler man guilty of aggravated assault against a peace officer after three days of testimony in which prosecutors said he fired shots at a sheriff’s deputy while riding in a vehicle fleeing law enforcement. 

The jury deliberated about two hours on Thursday before returning the unanimous verdict. 

Ricardo Pineda, 33, could be sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree felony offense.

Day three of testimony began with Smith County Sheriff’s Office K9 Officer Corey Cameron taking the stand.

Cameron pursued the vehicle Pineda was riding in on March 21, 2106, in rural Smith County while taking semiautomatic weapons fire from inside the vehicle.

Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham acknowledged Cameron’s career and thanked him for his 24 years of law enforcement service. 

Cameron fought back emotions as he answered Bingham’s line of questioning about his wife and four children and why he is a deputy. He said he does it to help others even though it may cause him to lose his life.  

Cameron said he was called on to stop the vehicle that was under surveillance by federal and county law enforcement officials.

He said he got behind the vehicle on Texas Highway 64 near Tyler Pounds Regional Airport and followed the vehicle to Thompson Lane, where the driver committed a traffic violation.

Cameron said he activated his lights on County Road 46 and the vehicle fled, driving away at speeds of up to 100 mph.  

Pineda’s defense attorney Buck Files questioned Cameron about the distance he traveled during the pursuit, how long the pursuit lasted and if he saw Pineda hanging out the window while he was shooting.  

Cameron said he wasn’t sure of the distance and didn’t know how long the pursuit lasted. He said he heard the shots and could hear them ricocheting off the road.

The state and defense rested their cases about 11 a.m.

Bingham’s closing statements focused on how the jury had seen the best and worst of Smith County during the trial. 

“Deputy Cameron is a hero,” he said. 

Bingham said Pineda and the others in that car that night don’t care about their community, they don’t care about the people protecting them and they don’t care about the law. 

Pineda’s defense attorney told the jury he is representing a person who is completely guilty, but he wanted the jury to convict him of deadly conduct, a lesser charge than aggravated assault.

Bingham and the defense explained the difference between aggravated assault and deadly conduct to the jury prior to them going into deliberations. 

Judge Jack Skeen read the guilty verdict to the court shortly before 4:30 p.m.

Court was adjourned until 8:30 a.m. Friday when the sentencing phase of the trial will begin.