A Maynard man, charged with attempted murder for an encounter with law enforcement officers in Oelwein, has now been released from the hospital, and is being held in the Fayette County jail. Thirty-three-year-old Abel Quijas Junior was the subject of a manhunt last Thursday, September 11th, in Oelwein after an attempt to arrest him in a drug investigation.
Two police officers tried to arrest Quijas on a charge of conspiracy to deliver drugs. Quijas attempted escape in a car, but an officer was partially inside his vehicle. Quijas also allegedly tried to strike another officer with the car. Shots were fired.
His getaway car was later found disabled on the east side of town, adjacent to a corn field. Quijas was found in a rural Fayette County home the next morning. He was taken to University Hospitals in Iowa City, to be treated for a gunshot wound to the arm. Quijas faces a charge of attempted murder involving a peace officer.
Quijas had a previous conviction of smuggling illegal aliens into the country, about 8 years ago.
(Reporting by Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein)