Category: Tid Bits by Richie Priest

Christmas here we come! Last week officers handled 49 calls for service and conducted 97 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 82 citations and 15 warnings.
The Lytle PD had two arrests last week: #1 – On Monday, a wanted person turned himself in to the PD. We had obtained a felony domestic violence warrant on him from an incident the prior week. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – On Sunday Ofc. L. Diaz stopped a vehicle and determined it be reported stolen out of SAPD. The driver was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. The 1994 Ford Ranger was recovered.
We had three property crimes reported last week: #1 – McDonald’s said that they received a counterfeit $100 bill. #2 – H.E.B. Plus reported that a shoplifter left the store with some merchandise, the case is under investigation. #3 – A Lake Side Circle resident said that a bullet entered a glass window of their residence. It appeared to be a large caliber rifle projectile. Most likely came from out in the county somewhere, the case is under investigation.
At the city council meeting last week, the council received an update from our local health authority, Dr. Richard Neel. He reported seeing an increase in the Flu, COVID, and RSV. He said the best prevention is frequently washing your hand and avoiding confined spaces with large groups of people.
Traffic Alert: The city’s public works department will be repairing a water leak on McDonald St. this week. The location is between City Hall and the CVS Pharmacy and there will be some lane shifting. We anticipate the work to start on Tuesday and be completed by Wednesday (if all goes well). It shouldn’t be a major issue, just a heads-up.
Last Monday I was dispatched to the area of Taco Bell for an intoxicated suspect, I found the guy and he was intoxicated for sure. He was just passing through; said he was homeless. I told him I was going to have to take him to jail and he became a little aggressive. I was working alone (all the officers were in Pleasanton for a short training), so I called the City Administrator, Matthew Dear, and asked him to switch hats and become Lt. Dear and give me a hand. It was kind of like when Bruce Wayne becomes Batman except Matt didn’t come from the bat cave; he just came from the city hall parking lot. We got placed him in custody and off to jail I went. I don’t regularly take people to jail. I’m like your average big-city police chief; I mostly just sit around and look good. I got to the jail and took off my weapon and body armor carrier (you can’t take all that stuff in the jail) so that left me with an empty holster and a Lytle PD t-shirt. I was fumbling around with all the paperwork and the ACSO Jail supervisor who was helping me asked “Are you new at Lytle PD?” I just told him “I’ve been here a while”. I need to work on being more regionally recognizable. 

Here is something new: I’m working with our Animal Care and Control Dept. to spotlight a weekly dog and cat that needs a “Forever Home”. Our “Dog of the Week” is Christopher: he’s about seven, sweet, quirky, very cuddly, and wants to be with you all the time. He’d prefer to be with older children and gets along with some dogs, but not all. Our “Cat of the Week” is Valentino: cute, cuddly, and very curious! Silly personality and does well with dogs. Very playful and loves his toys. He also loves to explore… I have attached their pictures to this email, contact Lytle Animal Care and Control @ 830-709-3832 for more information.

Continue reading “Dog of the Week”

The weather has been depressing, at least for me. I could never live in the Pacific Northwest that is for sure. Lytle PD stuff…. We handled 55 calls for service and conducted 61 traffic stops. Officers issued 44 citations and 17 warnings last week.
Officers made 2 arrests last week, both were for DWI. #1 – Intoxicated driver in the Pirate Express Drive-Thru. #2 – A traffic stop on Main St. Nothing too exciting here, but those are the kind of arrests that may have saved the life of the arrested person or an innocent person. Good job officers L. Diaz and S. Pena
Two reports of property crimes were taken. #1 – A complainant reported that household items were taken from her storage unit on FM 2790 E. There were no signs of forced entry. #2 – Criminal mischief was reported at John Lott Park, a trail sign was taken and damaged.
Good news! Both the NB entrance ramp to IH-35 and the NB exit ramp to Lytle are now open! There will still be construction in the area but at least the ramps are functioning.
Last Friday, we had our first employee Christmas dinner. In the past, we had a luncheon for the employees and elected officials, but this year immediate family members were invited as well, and we held it in the evening. It was nice to get to see the families of other employees and get to know them. I think it was a smashing success! I guess that is why office parties have been around for years, I just never have been to one. I am normally reserved and keep to myself, but the Italian food made me feel comfortable and let down my guard. I still think I may have done more eating than talking. Special thanks to Paola Rios, our City Secretary, for setting it up.
Congratulations are in order for Ofc. David D. Lopez. He is now Sergeant David D. Lopez. A promotion for him was approved on Dec. 1st. He will help fill the supervisor void left by Lt. Dear moving to City Administrator and Captain Frank Reyes’ retirement. David has been with us for almost 10 years and holds an Advanced Texas Peace Officer license. If my records are correct, this is the first promotion for a full-time officer in over 10 years. This is not something we just hand out on a regular basis.
I ended the week by opening my home and hosting a Christmas party for our church’s youth group. We had a good time; it would have been nice if the weather had been better, and we could have had some outside activities. Nobody got hurt, nobody got TASED, and nobody got pepper sprayed… I have learned my lesson. The last thing I need is to get kicked out of another church.
This Saturday, Dec. 10th, is the annual Christmas Hayride/Holiday Lighting event. Meet us at the Lytle Community Center on Priest Blvd. at 6 pm, I suggest you get there early. The admission cost to the hayride is $1 or one canned good per person. Now before all this inflation the “one canned good” was probably the better value. I am not so sure now! I also want to clarify that I have never gone through the canned goods, picked out the ravioli, and replaced it with a dollar. Those are rumors started by people to discredit my good name and highlight my love of ravioli.

Here is what happened last week: Lytle PD officers responded to 60 calls for service last week and conducted 70 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 61 citations and 9 warnings.
Property Crimes (2 Reported): #1 – On Election Day a candidate’s sign was taken from the polling place on Priest Blvd. #2 – Three crooks made off with about $1,000 worth of merchandise from the Western Brands store on IH-35. Probably some organized retail theft group, in the past this stuff ended up at flea markets, now it can be easily sold on the internet as well.
Arrests (7 Reported): #1 – A traffic stop resulted in the arrest of a male with a felony child endangerment warrant out of Medina Co. #2 – A male was cited and released for stealing a Beto O’Rourke sign from a polling place. #3 – A male subject evaded a traffic stop on a motorcycle, he was apprehended after a short pursuit and booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #4 & #5 – A traffic stop resulted in two males being cited and released for possession of drug paraphernalia. #6 & #7 – Sgt. Hanson attempted to stop a driver for going 71 in a 30. After a brief pursuit the driver was arrested for felony evading and his passenger had a warrant out of Bexar Co.
I was out of the office most of last week. Myself, Lt Dear, Officer D. Lopez, and Officer S. Pena attended a 2 1/2 day Fire Marshal training conference in Pasadena (TX). This marks the 10th year that Lt. Dear and I have attended this conference. Lots of good material and we made lots of connections. When in the area, I suggest the Monument Inn Restaurant near the San Jacinto Battlefield and the Lynchburg Ferry. The “Pan Fried Shrimp” is wonderful.
The election has come and gone. I’m going to comment on only one race I followed. It looks like congratulations are in order for Anson Williams, he was elected Mayor of Ojai, CA (unofficial results). He played Warren “Potsie” Weber on Happy Days from 1974-1984. I watched a lot of TV and Happy Days was a staple.

Here is your weekly update from the Lytle Police Dept. We include not only our activity but important city information as well! Officers managed 43 calls for service last week, which is a slow week for the “number of calls”. Your officers conducted 65 traffic stops; those stops resulted in 56 citations and 9 warnings.
We had a huge turnout on Halloween night, the weather was perfect, and the candy was plentiful. We had 8 officers and 7 vehicles out in the field, so about all the officers and all the patrol vehicles. We didn’t have any reported issues involving safety or crime, we will call that a win. I’m still finding empty candy wrappers in my patrol truck; I can only assume that unknown persons were putting the wrappers in there. There is no way I ate all those mini-Snickers and Smarties.
Looks like we only had one property crime reported last week. The locks of 5 mini-storage units on Somerset St. were cut off. One unit reported three folding tables missing. Our crook might have family coming over for Thanksgiving; you can never have too many folding tables.
We also took two financial crime reports, a “hot” check was issued to Napa Auto Parts and a complainant reported that an unknown person cashed a fraudulent check on his account at TXN Bank.
Arrests: Officers made 5 arrests last week: The biggest arrest of the week was on Tuesday. Cpl. Robison and I responded to a disturbance on S. Somerset St. We arrested a 37-year-old female for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (a knife), and she was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. On Wednesday at 8:00 AM a 38-year-old female turned herself in at the P.D. She had an active theft warrant on a case we worked on at NAPA Auto Parts. She was transported to the Atascosa Co. Jail. Had she turned herself in a little later I would have dropped her off at the jail and then hit one of the good places to eat over in the Pleasanton/Jourdanton area. Officers also cited and released three others for possession of drug paraphernalia; those were from three separate incidents.
Emergency Alerts: It’s that time of year; we may be facing weather-related emergencies and issues. If you aren’t signed up to get alerts from the city, please do so. You go to this link and sign up; https://public.alertsense.com/signup/?regioniD=1618 I would suggest just checking off everything. We don’t sell your email or phone number, mostly because nobody has ever offered to buy them.
REMINDER: Starting on Monday, Nov. 7th the Northbound entrance ramp to IH-35 (in front of Lytle State Bank) will be closed for 2 weeks. Use Main St. North to get onto the IH-35 ramp (overpass just North of the City Limits) during that time. Lytle State Bank will be accessible but give yourself a little extra time to get to it.
NEW NEWS (Traffic Related): I hope you are ready for some more traffic stuff – The Northbound I-35 off-ramp into Lytle (FM 3175) will be closed for a week starting around the 29th of November. Use Exit 127 at Natalia. (Either take the frontage road into Lytle or drive into Natalia and take 132 to Lytle) If you miss the Natalia exit, then take the Luckey Road exit and turn around back to Lytle. This is the only Northbound Exit off IH-35 to Lytle, so this will be challenging. We are putting the school rivalry aside and suggesting you exit in Natalia, please wave at everybody as you pass through. If you miss the Natalia exit then use Luckey Rd, take the overpass and come back and visit us. Like all good things, it is worth the extra effort.

Officers handled 51 calls for service last week and conducted 110 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 102 citations and 8 warnings.
We started the week with a lot of arrests and then it fizzled out towards the weekend. In all, we had 8 arrests. #1 – Ofc. Pena stopped a vehicle on Wisdom Rd. and determined the driver had 2 felony warrants out of Bexar Co. for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (Plain English: He steals cars). He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – Sgt. Hanson conducted a traffic stop and the driver came to a stop at his residence on Lytle-Somerset St. He had two active warrants out of Atascosa Co. (one felony and one misdemeanor). His girlfriend came out of the house and started yelling at him “that’s Karma,” I guess she was happy he was going to jail. That’s about the time I pulled up. The boyfriend then tells Sgt. Hanson that she has a warrant as well (original charge of a DWI), he confirms it and then I see him walk over to her and tell her she is under arrest too (that’s #3) and it “must be that Karma she is talking about”. They were both booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #4 – Sgt. Hanson stopped a speeder in the school zone and determined he had an active felony warrant out of Bexar Co. for Family Violence. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. That was all on Monday! #5 – Ofc. Diaz stopped a vehicle for running a red light on Main St. The vehicle, a 2002 Buick, was reported stolen out of San Antonio P.D. The female driver was arrested for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and the Buick was recovered. She was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #6 & #7 – Ofc. A. Lopez stopped a vehicle on Main St. for running a stop sign, the stop resulted in two adult males being cited for possession of drug paraphernalia. They were both released at the scene. #8 – Ofc. Diaz arrested a male, who was riding a bicycle, for public intoxication. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
Officers took 2 reports of property crimes last week. #1 – The owner of a 2000 Chevy P/U reported her vehicle was broken into while she was at work at the H.E.B. C-Store. A .22 revolver, misc. hand tools and a bag with change was taken. There were no signs of forced entry. #2 – A complainant reported that their mini-storage unit N. Somerset St. was burglarized, and the contents were removed. The contents included pictures, clothing, and sewing material.
Now, I have important news: Starting on Monday, Nov. 7th the northbound entrance ramp to IH-35 (in front of Lytle State Bank) will be closed for 2 weeks. Use Main St. North to get onto the IH-35 ramp (overpass just north of the City Limits) during that time. Lytle State Bank will be accessible but give yourself a little extra time to get to it. We might have another important road update next week, stay tuned! We are a “City on the Grow” ……. this is just part of that.
For up-to-date info. you Facebookers should keep up with: Ruben Gonzalez Mayor City of Lytle TX. You can follow me on Twitter @lytlepdchief, but I am not as fun (I’m an all-work and no-play kind of guy).
Once all this TXDOT stuff is done we will be in decent shape for sure! How long will all this planned work take? I’m not sure but IH-35 from Lytle to Dallas has been under construction since I started driving there to visit my grandparents in the late 80s.
Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before you know it. With that comes our annual Christmas Hayride! The big night is Saturday, December 10th. I would rate this the #2 city event, right behind the 4th of July Fireworks Show.

Officers managed 48 calls last week, that’s on the low side. Officers conducted 73 traffic stops, 57 resulted in citations and 16 were warnings. It looks like even the crooks are taking time off to enjoy the cooler weather. Imagine how hot it was crawling underneath those cars and cutting off the catalytic converters during our super-hot summer. I guess I would take a break too.
I don’t have much to report, only one property crime and two arrests occurred last week. Property crime number 1 of 1: A mobile home was being moved on Creek St. and the AC unit was left by the side of the road, it appears it was picked up by someone who thought it had been set out as junk. If you want to get rid of something around here, just sit it by the side of the road. It will disappear quickly.
Arrests last week: #1 – Officer Diaz (assisted by Ofc. Pena) conducted a traffic stop on Main St. The suspect had “veered” into the other lane of the traffic. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – While on patrol in the 17900 Blk. of Wisdom Road, Ofc. Pena observed a roadside fire and a man holding a gas can. The suspect had poured gasoline on a deceased dog and lit it on fire. It was determined that the dog belonged to the suspect, and it had been struck by a car a few days prior. The suspect was arrested for arson and booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. I am not sure what was going on in this guy’s mind but starting a fire on the side of the road at 3:45 AM is never a clever idea.
Here is some “news you can use”: It looks like City Hall has worked out a plan where they can remain open during the lunch hour! It was that way 5 or 6 years ago and then was changed. Being open during the noon hour will make the city hall more accessible to the public. When I am down there, I have often commented that “It wouldn’t hurt if you all missed a few meals.” Maybe, they decided to skip lunch based on my words of wisdom. No matter who gets credit for this, me, or the people that actually work down there and make decisions….it is a win for our citizens.
There has been lots of other activity in town. The Lytle HS Band did very well at their competition in Beeville. We escorted them out of town on Saturday morning and night shift brought them back into town at 2:45 AM on Sunday! I thought I had some long days. The community clean-up on Saturday morning went well too! I saw some big dumpsters full of junk and trash. I am proud that when the call goes out to our community to find some junk…. they always come through.

This week at Lytle P.D. … Officers handled 74 calls for service! They conducted 45 traffic stops that resulted in 37 citations and 8 warnings.
Officers kept busy – Reported Property Crimes, we had 8 of them: #1 – A construction company working in the Saddle Ridge subdivision reported 140 gallons of diesel missing from two pieces of equipment. #2 – a 2012 Toyota Tundra had the catalytic converter cut off, this happened at the Lytle Crossing parking lot. #3 – An Adams St. resident reported that someone damaged the side mirror on their vehicle. #4 – Lytle ISD reported that somebody passed another fake $20 bill at the concession stand. #5 – H.E.B. Plus reported that a crook made off with 8 trees valued at $58.76. #6 – Officers took a report of a vehicle being “keyed” at the H.E.B. Plus, it occurred during a disturbance. #7 – Burglary of a building, N. Pecan St. Approx. $500 worth of wire was taken from a shed. On an interesting note, the victims had a video of the suspect’s vehicle and saw him a few days later at Dollar General. They confronted the suspect, something I wouldn’t suggest doing. They were able to recover some of their property. #8 – A catalytic converter was cut from a 2004 Toyota Tundra while parked at Hurley’s Funeral Home.
Arrests last week, we had 4 of them: #1 – Ofc. A. Lopez (assisted by Sgt. Hanson) cited and released the driver for possession of drug paraphernalia. #2 – Ofc. L. Diaz was checking out a suspicious person at the Lytle Mini Storage and found him to have an active assault warrant out of Bexar Co. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #3 – A welfare check by Ofc. Pena on a female at H.E.B.’s curbside area resulted in a female being arrested for an active warrant out of Bexar Co. for contempt of court. She was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #4 – Ofc. Pena conducted a traffic stop on Wisdom & Norvell. The driver was arrested for felony DWI and had two active felony warrants out of Bexar Co., both were child sex crimes.
So that is it for the crime reports, now on to some other stuff:
Perhaps your nose was picking up an odd smell over the weekend? We were scrambling around to figure out why Lytle was using the temporary motto “A City on the Stink.” We were able to find the source of the “fowl” odor as being chicken manure that was recently applied as fertilizer to a large farm just outside of town. We almost broke out our masks again!
Our National Night Out event went very well, we ran out of hotdogs towards the end (we served over 300!). Special thanks to the Lytle VFW and their Auxiliary for cooking and serving the hotdogs and providing a DJ. Thanks also to the Lytle HS Honor Society for serving the drinks, and the Lytle PD Civ. Aux. members for staffing our booth, we had numerous businesses and organizations set up as well. I even had my wife and kids handing out ice cream bars. Thanks to all those that participated and or attended the event, there is no way I can list them all here. The Lytle Fire Dept. was able to highlight a new truck and we had a new Tahoe on display too. Plans are already in the works to make the event next year even better.
The only downside to the event was Ofc. D. Lopez lost his body-worn camera while taking down the bounce house. Several of the officers got aggressive and jumped on it to force the air out. Later we realized that maybe his camera was rolled up in there. The next morning, we contacted the owner of the bounce house, who happens to be a city council member, and asked about unrolling it and looking for the camera. He found it! The story continues…. he was running a little late, so he texted his wife on his cell phone, and “bodycam” auto-corrected to “body” ……so the text came over as “found body in the bouncer, texting Richey.” I can imagine the thoughts running through her head that we wrapped some kid up in the bouncer the night before.

Greetings from all of us here at the Lytle P.D.! We had 60 calls for service this week and 71 traffic stops. Of those 71 traffic stops, 63 were issued citations, and 8 were given warnings.
We took 6 reports of property crimes, here you go: #1 – Some aspiring artists hit John Lott Park with graffiti. The pavilion sign, building, and trash can were targeted. #2 – A Wisdom Rd. resident reported that their trash can was stolen. #3 – A catalytic converter was taken from a 2015 Toyota Tacoma while it was parked at the TXDOT Park and Ride across from Lytle State Bank. #4 – A homeowner on CR 6842 reported someone was inside their home. Officers arrived and arrested a male for burglary of a habitation. #5 – A catalytic converter was taken from a 2018 Honda CRV while it was parked at O’Reilly Auto Parts on McDonald St. #6 – H.E.B. reported the theft of some trees, looks like the same vehicle from last week. The items taken (28 trees) were valued at approx. $720. These guys were pointing out what to get like they were filling a shopping list. We got better video this time……maybe we can track them down.
Officers made two arrests last week. #1 – A man was arrested for burglarizing a home (the incident on CR 6842). The homeowner caught him on camera. He was booked into the Medina Co. Jail. #2 – A man with 2 parole board warrants (possession of a firearm by felon & controlled substance possession) was sitting in front of the PD and turned himself in. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail without incident.
We had a lot going on last week, this including assisting with 4 pursuits. #1 – Thursday (9/29) around noon officers assisted with a pursuit that ended just south of the city limits on IH-35. This incident involved human smuggling. #2 – Friday (9/30) around 4:30 PM officers assisted with a pursuit from the south on Main St. The vehicle (a stolen F250) turned up 2790 N, looped down Blume Dr., and then took off towards La Coste. The pursuing officers lost the vehicle. It most likely involved human smuggling, the vehicle was stolen out of SA, and so I doubt our crooks were simply returning it. #3 – Saturday (10/1) just after midnight, officers assisted with a pursuit from La Coste that ended in the LHS parking lot. It was not related to human smuggling. #4 – Saturday (10/1) about 9AM, State Troopers pursued a vehicle into town on Main St. from the south. The suspect vehicle collided with two vehicles at the intersection in front of city hall and then came to rest in front of a house next to city hall. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. This vehicle was engaged in human smuggling. My family was just up the street conducting a garage sale in front of some old buildings we have. My wife and son saw the crash; I was inside and heard them holler for me. I sprinted down the street as the officers were taking the suspects into custody. The road was shut down for a while. I was later told by a witness that I didn’t sprint down the street; it was more like a fast walk. Well, it seemed like I was sprinting. On a positive note, my wife said sales soared at the garage sale due to the road closure.
Just be careful out there, I have never seen so many pursuits and incidents involving human smuggling in my 30+ year career as a peace officer. We are well over 100 miles from the border, so I can imagine what it is like further south. I’m not talking politics, just letting you know what is going on in our community. My advice: Be extra careful at all intersections, even if you have the right of way. If you see and or hear emergency vehicles get off the roadway as soon as possible, I suggest pulling into a parking lot or well into the grass if that is your only option.
I’m so proud of myself; I focused on a serious topic. I was going to scrap all that and rave about the Italian food place we ate at in Helotes after the garage sale.

The Lytle P.D. numbers say we had a “slow” week. We had 45 calls for service and conducted 47 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 43 citations and 4 warnings. There was not a lot to report this week.
There were no arrests last week! That is a good thing, a lot of crooks just see a night or two in jail as a chance to regroup and refocus.
We had two property crimes reported last week: #1 – A TXDOT contractor working on the IH-35 Access Rd. project had a hand-held compactor and a jackhammer taken. The loss was valued at $4,000. #2 – A person in a brown Dodge P/U lifted over $1,100 worth of trees from H.E.B. Plus. The theft occurred on Saturday morning at 3:06 AM. We usually see AC window unit thefts when it gets this hot, I guess the rising electrical cost have forced people to steal shade trees.
If you haven’t heard…. the temporary ramp closure project for IH-35 (the one by Lytle State Bank) has been delayed. We will let you know when we have new dates.
It’s never too early to mark your calendar for our annual Christmas Hayride! It will be held on Saturday, December 10th. This is one of our most popular events.
Please join us for our National Night Out event that will be held next week on Tuesday, Oct. 4. It will be at the Lytle Community Center on Priest Blvd. The times will be from 6 PM – 8 PM. There will be numerous community groups set up as well as displays of fire and police vehicles and equipment. The Lytle VFW and their Auxiliary will cook and serve hotdogs for us. We also will have a DJ! There will be plenty of drinks and snacks too. It’s a fun time to come out and meet your public safety workers. We will have gun locks to give away as well as our new 1 oz mini bottles of hand sanitizer. If nothing else, you will be able to leave with a full stomach and hand sanitizer. Plus, the joint has air conditioning and indoor plumbing.