Texarkana man who lost eye to pepper spray found not guilty of resisting arrest

City, Bowie County deputy named in federal civil rights lawsuit

NEW BOSTON, Texas -- A man charged with resisting arrest in an incident where he was shot in the eye by police with a pepper spray gun has been found not guilty by a Bowie County jury.

DaQuan Huey, 21, was 17 when officers with Texarkana Texas Police Department responded in January 2019 to a crowd fighting on Brookwood Drive in Texarkana. Huey suffered complete loss of vision in his left eye after being struck at close range by a JPX chemical spray gun, according to court documents.

He was found not guilty Tuesday before County Court of Law Judge Craig Henry. The charge of resisting arrest is a Class A Misdemeanor.

Huey's attorney Josh Potter argues Huey was backing away from someone whom he feared would hurt him when he was grabbed from behind by Officer Scott Lillis. Potter says Huey did not know Lillis was a police officer.

Attorneys for Lillis have claimed body-camera video shows Huey acting aggressively.

Huey's mother, Miracle Farr, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Texarkana, Texas, and Lillis. The federal case, which was filed in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas, has been on hold until Huey's criminal charges were resolved.

Lillis is currently a Bowie County Sheriff's deputy.

The federal complaint alleges, among other things, that Lillis was inadequately trained and the Police Department has a history of using excessive force and covering it up.

On Aug. 6 2022, Lillis lost his left eye after being shot in the face by murder suspect Hector Alejandro Pintor Aguilar during a traffic stop on U.S. 59 south of Texarkana.

Aguilar was wanted in the shooting death of his father-in-law and injuring of his mother-in-law following an apparent domestic dispute earlier Aug. 6 at Aguilar's home in Hooks, Texas. He fled the area but returned later in the day as hundreds of law enforcement officers fanned out in search of him.

Aguilar was found dead early Aug. 7 in an abandoned house on Roy Road. He died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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