Cowart

A Tyler man, who police say threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and backed his vehicle into her car when she was inside, has been indicted on an aggravated assault charge.

Joshua Allen Cowart, 36, was indicted on the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond was set at $75,000, according to the Dec. 5 indictment.

The Tyler Police Department said just after 7 a.m. on Sept. 12, they got a 911 call from a woman who said her ex-boyfriend followed her to work and was acting crazy, according to a police news release.

The woman was trying to get away from Cowart in her vehicle at New Copeland Road and Loop 323, according to the news release.

Cowart was shouting at her in the parking lot that he was going to kill her and deliberately backed his vehicle into her vehicle.

He then fled in his vehicle and traffic officers spotted him at Paluxy Drive and Loop 323. He pulled into the parking lot of the former Hobby Lobby, exited his vehicle with a knife and shouted at officers to kill him, the release stated.

Officers on scene gave him several verbal commands to drop the knife, but he did not comply and officers shot him twice with a less lethal shotgun beanbag.

Cowart has a criminal history dating back to 2000, according to Smith County judicial records.

At the time of the incident, he was also charged with evading arrest and detention and had an outstanding parole violation warrant, according to the release.

Cowart has been in Smith County Jail since Sept. 12, according to jail records.