We actually have a decent amount of police activity to report on this week. Though total calls numbered only 49 and the tally on traffic citations was 55 we had plenty of other stuff to keep us busy.
On Nov. 29th Capt. Reyes investigated a report that a snowman had been knocked over at the Veterans’ Park on Main St. Upon investigation it was determined to be a Christmas decoration and not a real snowman. On the same day Capt. Reyes also took a report of a bicycle theft from John Lott Park. With these two park crimes maybe I need a Park Police Division?
On Nov. 30th at about 1:30 AM Ofc. L. Diaz was dispatched to the Best Western Plus on IH-35 for a report of suspicious activity. He located a vehicle with MN plates occupied by a male and a female. Both occupants were passed out and the vehicle was running. He began his investigation into the situation and when it was said and done he had seized about 35 grams of meth, a loaded handgun and a bit over $25,000 in cash. He was assisted by Atascosa Deputy John Mendoza. Two suspects from Minnesota were arrested on various charges and booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. It wasn’t until the next day that it sank in with Ofc. Diaz that he could have been in a gun battle if the arrested fellow decided he really didn’t want to give up his dope and money. I’m very thankful that Ofc. Diaz went home safely that night; this story could have easily ended much differently. The first thing I thought of was if those people weren’t such cheapskates and got a room for the night they would most likely be back in Minnesota with their gun, drugs and money. Ofc. Diaz had another arrest the next night, while conducting a building check at Quick Silver Automotive he located an intoxicated man. That guy got a ticket for public intoxication and was released to a sober friend.
Ofc. D. Lopez had two arrests this week both on Dec. 2nd. He responded to a disturbance on Oak St. and determined one of the involved persons had an active felony warrant for domestic violence out of Bexar Co. Upon his search incident to arrest, cocaine was located on his person. Yep the old “cocaine in the sock” trick didn’t work out so well. Lopez also responded to Whataburger for a report of a theft of a cell phone, he was able to locate the suspect and recovered the phone. The suspect said it was a “stupid mistake.” Both of these guys were booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
Sgt. Hanson had one arrest on Dec. 3rd. He responded to Bruce St. for an assault. He took one to jail on a charge of assault by contact – family member. There is nothing like a domestic violence arrest at 7:45 AM on Sunday morning to start off the day.
Four of our officers attended a two day training course in Pleasanton this past week. Lt. Dear, Sgt. Hanson, Ofc. Guzman and Ofc. Lopez received 16 hours of training in regard to writing search warrants. The training was provided free of charge by 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Gossett Louis’ office. They brought in a well respected and highly sought after instructor to provide the training. The timing was excellent and they are going to get right to work as we just seized four cell phones and need warrants to get them examined (I hope they weren’t sleeping in class).
We had several incidents at H.E.B. Plus where an individual was going from vehicle to vehicle and checking to see if the doors were left unlocked. Thanks to an alert customer we were able to locate the suspect this week. A set of keys were recovered, no charges were filed and the person was given a criminal trespass notice to not return to the property.
Don’t forget about the Blue Santa program, you can drop gifts off at the police station. Contact Lytle Chamber of Commerce President Teresa Villarreal (210-573-2562) for more info. Maybe next week it will be slower and I can provide more of my regular nonsense.