Officers responded to 55 calls for service this past week. A total of 62 traffic stops were conducted of those 30 resulted in warnings and 32 resulted in a citation being issued.
We did have some activity this week worth reporting on. Lt. Dear processed the final juvenile in our “tire slashing” case from July. I know he is glad to see that case completed. We had a couple calls at H.E.B. Plus for shoplifters. On one occasion we cited an adult male after he tried to sneak out an 18 pack of beer valued at $14.47. He had purchased some groceries but I guess he figured he would try to create his own customer bonus program to cover the beer. We also made a call up there where a couple fellows loaded up a basket with expensive stuff and when they saw they were being “watched” they remembered they didn’t have any money and abandoned the basket.
It’s a situation that occurs regularly, crooks looking for an easy target and as soon as they see they are on the “radar” they take off. With that being said often times my mere presence at H.E.B. Plus will send would be shoplifters fleeing the store empty handed. Not only do shoplifters flee my presence but a lot people tend to head in a different direction when they see me. It’s a gift I have, I guess.
H.E.B. was also the site of a stolen vehicle. On Sunday night an employee reported his 1995 Chevy P/U was taken sometime during the day. On Monday morning Capt. Reyes responded to H.E.B. and recovered a 1996 Chevy P/U that was reported stolen out of San Antonio. So I would assume our crook stole this one in SA and then dumped it and stole a fresh ride here in Lytle. Our car thief must really be a fan of 20+ year old Chevy trucks.
The crime of the week was the burglary of a coin operated ice machine at the Pump House Car Wash on the IH-35 Access Rd. During the heat of the summer people are lined up buying ice, I would think that might be a better time to hit it. It’s been real cold and I haven’t seen much activity around that machine. Seems like a more knowledgeable crook would have picked a better target.