Category: Tid Bits by Richie Priest

Continue reading “Tid-Bits by Richie Priest, Lytle Chief of Police”

Lytle P.D. officers made it through last week by handling 53 calls for service and conducting 98 traffic stops. Of those 98 traffic stops, 69 resulted in a citation and 29 were either verbal or written warnings.  
       We had five property crimes reported last week: #1 – H.E.B. Plus reported a female with a child attempted to make off with $88 worth of product. The property was recovered by store staff, the case is under investigation. #2 – Somebody thought it would be cool to graffiti the baby changing table in a restroom at John Lott Park. #3 – A Harbour St. resident reported their Waste Management trash can as stolen. On a side note, these normally turn up a day or two later after ending up at the wrong house. #4 – A complainant reported his wallet containing $117 cash, a Mexico DL, and his Mexico Consulate card was lost at H.E.B. Plus. #5 – A suspect attempted to cut into a storage unit at Lytle Self Storage on FM 2790, he damaged the lock and door (an arrest was made, see the arrest section). #6 – A suspect threw a rock and broke a window at Tots to Teen Dentistry. The suspect has been identified. 
       Arrests for last week: #1 – Officers arrested a male for a domestic violence charge, before being booked into jail he requested medical care for an existing condition. He was taken to the hospital in Jourdanton for clearance, it was determined he needed to be admitted. He was released and officers will seek an arrest warrant on an assault charge. (So that is kind of an arrest, un-arrest situation). #2 – Officers arrested a 39-year-old male for criminal trespass on H.E.B. property, he had been given a trespass notice in the past. #3 – Ofc. J. Cortez was patrolling the Lytle Self Storage on FM 2790 and happened upon a burglar trying to break into a unit. The suspect was charged with criminal mischief, and he had a felony dope warrant out of Bexar Co. Good job Ofc J. Cortez! #4 – A traffic stop on N. Prairie resulted in the arrest of a 27-year-old male on a warrant out of Bexar Co. for domestic violence. 
There are still some companies and individuals that go “door to door”. Door-to-door soliciting in the city limits of Lytle requires a permit. The permits are obtained at the city hall. If you have someone come to your door you can always ask them if they have a permit and ask to see it. We see this commonly with those wanting to do yard work (back when it rained), tree trimming, etc. We issue a few for products and other services too, solar panels got popular for a while. Many times, these solicitors don’t have permits, often because they are less than on the “up and up”. Feel free to call our 24-hour dispatch at 830-769-3434, an Atascosa Sheriff’s Communication Officer will dispatch an officer to your location to check the status of the solicitor. My best advice is if they offer something that seems to be too good to be true, you need to put some thought into it. Some people and groups, such as religious organizations, don’t require permits since they aren’t selling a product. Feel free to email or call if you have any questions. I have questions about anyone willing to go “door to door” in this heat!
On Monday, August 7, 2023, Sgt. D. Lopez and Ofc. L. Diaz responded to a disturbance on Magnolia St. Our officers encountered a subject in a mental health crisis, he was armed with a handgun and had already discharged the firearm. I am very proud that our officers used their training and experience in this critical incident, and the situation was resolved without any injury. The outcome could have been much different. 
In other Lytle P.D. news …. We mourn the loss of our break room refrigerator. After 8 plus years it gave out, I have stored many unhealthy snacks in there through the years. Fortunately, I have a new one scheduled for delivery.
-Richey

Lytle P.D. stuff for the week ending July 30, 2023, Officers handled 48 calls for service and conducted 83 traffic stops. Of those 83 stops, 54 resulted in a citation and 29 were warnings.
I missed one property crime in last week’s report. A rental trailer at a residence on Main St. had the ramps stolen! They probably wanted the whole trailer but decided to just get what they could. I’m not sure I would want to run into whoever stole those ramps; they were on the heavy side. For the past week, we only had one property crime reported! A resident in the 14400 Blk. of Main St. reported that someone entered his vehicle and removed an American Tactical .45 Cal. Handgun (1911 style).
Arrests: Lytle PD Officers arrested 4 people last week: #1 – A male was arrested for public intoxication after he was found passed out behind the H.E.B. C-Store. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – A traffic stop on FM 2790 N. resulted in the arrest of a female who had an active warrant out of Bell Co. for Tampering with Govt. Records. She was booked into the Medina Co. Jail. #3 – A disturbance in the parking lot of the Lytle Community Center resulted in the arrest of a female for possession of Marijuana and unlawfully carrying a firearm. She will also be charged with possession of a stolen firearm. A Sig 9 MM was recovered, it had been reported stolen to San Marcos P.D. She was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #4 – A traffic stop on the access road of IH-35 resulted in the arrest of a female for possession of a controlled substance and unlawfully carrying a weapon. She was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
We recovered one stolen handgun this week and had one handgun reported stolen. I guess that means we broke even.
The Lytle VFW is planning an event to commemorate the events that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001. They will hold a Freedom Walk at John Lott Park on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. From what I understand, the route will start at the park and then take about a one-mile walk through some residential streets and then end back at the park. I think they have some other plans in store, but I don’t have the details. Rumor has it you might get a free hotdog out of this! We have always been a community that appreciates free hotdogs. On the police side, we will make sure we have plenty of officers to keep the walkers safe so don’t hesitate to bring out the whole family. Maybe we will get lucky and need a light jacket.
August is upon us so it might start getting hot. A fellow at church last week said he knows what it feels like to be under “house arrest” because the heat is so intense you can’t leave the house. Yep, I look outside and think I need to work on something and then I open the door and change my mind.
Our schools will be back in session next week, please take extra caution when motoring around the schools. I agree, traffic can be challenging with the construction and now school traffic. Try to be patient and go with the flow. If you can figure that out, then let me know the secret.

A quick overview of Lytle P.D.’s activity last week shows that officers handled 38 calls for service (that number is lower than average) and conducted 79 traffic stops. Of those stops, 54 resulted in a citation or citations and 39 were warnings.
In all, three property crimes were reported to us last week: #1 – The construction company working for TXDOT reported a piece of equipment damaged. The side mirrors were broken, and the hood was left open (probably trying to get to the battery). #2 – Dollar General reported a theft of unknown merchandise valued at between $100 and $200. #3 – H.E.B. reported a theft of $161 worth of merchandise. The suspect was identified and charges are pending. It just wouldn’t be a normal week if somebody didn’t steal something from a local store.
Officers made two arrests last week. #1 – Ofc. J. Cortez (assisted by Sgt. Hanson) conducted a traffic stop on Main St. for a vehicle with no lights. It was determined the driver was under the influence and was arrested for D.W.I.; he was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – Officers A. Lopez and R. Garcia responded to a roadside disturbance on Wisdom Rd. It resulted in the arrest of a female for possession of a controlled substance (Meth) and possession of a drug test falsification device. An uncommon charge, but basically, she had some fake urine, for use in passing a drug test. I don’t know much about fake urine (or real urine for that matter), is it cheaper than the real thing?
Now it’s time for some important travel/road information. This time the roadway is FM 2790, the road you take to leave Lytle and head to Somerset. Over the next two weeks, there will be 5 days when the roadway is a single lane. While you will be able to travel in both directions, there will be a flagger, so you may be in for a little wait. This is only a small stretch of roadway. The work is necessary for Rosewood Estates, a big subdivision under construction, to build out their entrances according to TXDOT requirements. This construction will start once you get past Lytle State Bank and should be complete before you reach the North Prong of the Atascosa River. Trust me, a little disruption would be better now as opposed to something not being designed correctly and we all end up dealing with it for years.
Here is my public service announcement for the week: A small child was shopping with their mother at H.E.B. and found a folded-up dollar bill on the floor. The bill contained what appeared to be methamphetamine. The mother turned the property into us. This is something you may want to think about before you pick up paper money. This is nothing new, 24 years ago when I was in the restaurant business, I ran into the same thing.
All is well on the home front; I am adapting to telling people I have 5 kids. Canon is just over 4 weeks old, Benji will be 2 in August, Joy is 13, Luke is 15, and Grace is 18! Last week we all made it to church, and we took up a whole pew. I am waiting to see if our church hits us with some sort of surcharge or something.