Killer Texas cop executed after delivering final message to victim’s family just feet away

A man on death row in Texas was executed Wednesday after being found guilty of killing a Dallas police officer in a high-speed chase nearly 16 years ago.

Wesley Ruiz, 43, received a lethal injection at Huntsville State Prison for the March 2007 murder of Dallas Police Chief Corporal Mark Nix.

“I’d like to apologize to Mark and the Nicks family for taking him away from you,” Ruiz said as he lay tied to a gurney in the death chamber. “I hope it brings you completion.”

Ruiz never looked at Nix’s family and friends, including his mother and sister, watching the execution a few feet away through the window. Instead, he thanks his family and friends for their support, urging his children to “stand up straight and keep making me proud.”

MAN FAILED FOR THE MURDER OF OFFICER DALLAS NEARLY 16 YEARS AGO IS DESIGNATED

Wesley Ruiz, 43, was found guilty of the fatal murder of a Dallas police officer in 2007. Ruiz was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
(Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

“Don’t worry about me. I’m ready to fly,” he said. “Alright warden, I’m ready to go.”

As the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began to take effect, he took two quick breaths and began to snore. His 11th snore was his last and there was no further movement. Twenty-two minutes later, at 6:41 pm, he was pronounced dead.

Ruiz led the chase at high speed after he was spotted driving a car that matched the description of the car used by the murder suspect nearly 16 years earlier. Ruiz shot Nicks once when a police officer tried to smash the passenger window of the car following a chase, authorities said.

The bullet hit Nix’s badge, shattered it, and sent the pieces down his neck, severing an artery. He later died in the hospital.

TWO LOST MONKEYS RETURNED TO DALLAS ZOO, NO SIGNS OF INJURIES

The bullet mortally wounded Dallas Police Chief Corporal Mark Nix.

Ruiz said that he fled the police that day because he had illegal drugs in his car and took drugs. He also said that he did not want to kill Nyx, but rather stopped him after he stated that Nyx had threatened to kill him. He also said that he believed the police were the first to open fire with their weapons.

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Ruiz became the second prisoner to be executed this year in Texas and the fourth in the United States. Seven other executions are scheduled in Texas later this year, including one next week.

Nicks, 33, a veteran of the US Navy’s Operation Desert Storm, had been in Dallas for nearly seven years and was engaged when he was killed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.