EDINBURG — The man who police say threatened his ex-girlfriend and officers before wrecking his car with a baby inside faced criminal charges Saturday afternoon.

Lorenzo Garza, 24, of Edinburg, heard the charges against him a day after officers said he led them on a short chase that ended with a woman and her 14-month-old baby in the hospital. His bond was set at $150,000 for evading arrest, endangering a child and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

The chase began about 1:30 a.m. Friday near Schunior Street and Expressway 281 when officers from Edinburg spotted a vehicle that matched the description of one that had been involved in a shooting in Alamo about midnight, Edinburg police spokesman Lt. Oscar Treviño said.

Alamo police responded to a call of a dispute about an hour before in the 1000 block of Acacia Avenue after a woman called to say that her former boyfriend was at her home demanding to speak to her, Alamo police spokesperson Sgt. Lupita Valdez said. When she refused to speak to the man, he shot out her car’s tires and fled the scene.

Police said Garza, who fled from both Alamo and Edinburg officers, also called his ex-girlfriend and threatened to harm her and the officers who were at her residence taking her report.

Police said Garza led them on a short chase that ended with him crashing into a ditch and rolling his SUV near Tower Road and Highway 107. They found all five occupants — two men, including Garza, two women and one 14-month-old baby — nearby walking away from the scene of the crash. The woman and her baby were transported to a local hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and later released.

Treviño said Garza, who also goes by ‘ Pelon ,’ has had run-ins with his department in the past and was convicted in 2008 for aggravated robbery.

Valdez said Friday afternoon that they expect to charge Garza with deadly conduct and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by Monday.

If convicted of the most serious crime of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second degree felony, Garza faces between two and 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

lzazueta@themonitor.com