Dad charged after leading police chase and driving into Sims Bayou with 7-month-old in car: Records

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A man accused of leading police officers on a chase with a child in his car and crashing into Sims Bayou has been charged for the ordeal, according to court records.

Luis Carlos Medrano, 36, is charged with evading arrest and endangering a child.

The video above is from a previous story.

It all began at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Officers said they tried stopping Medrano in the 10400 block of Randolph Street, but he kept going, prompting a chase. The pursuit went on for about 10 minutes.

At one point, authorities said Medrano tried to cut through a field to get away from officers, but the field ends at the bank of Sims Bayou. Investigators said the car went into about 15-foot deep water near the 7900 block of Grove Ridge Drive.

Four HPD officers jumped into the water, and that's when they saw Medrano removing a child from the backseat.

The officers took the child and brought him to safety. Medrano was detained shortly after.

"The defendant's actions placed the Complainant, members of the public, and law enforcement officers at serious and imminent risk of bodily injury or death," according to court documents.

On Tuesday, the district attorney's office told ABC13 that the child in Medrano's vehicle was his 7-month-old son. In addition, records show Medrano was charged in March 2023 with assaulting a family member.

The DA's office said Medrano was charged in 2013 with failure to register as a sex offender, but that was dismissed because prosecutors couldn't prove his offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Records also show he was charged in 2004 with aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14. The DA's office said this was reduced to indecency by exposure, but he had to register as a sex offender.

Medrano appeared in probable cause court on Tuesday. He's currently in jail, facing a $30,000 bond for each of his charges, records show.