Our call volume headed back up a little this week. Officers handled 57 calls for service and conducted 68 traffic stops. Those 68 stops resulted in 59 citations and 9 warnings.
There is a lot of stuff to steal around here, but we only had one property crime reported. A man walked out of H.E.B. Plus with about $30 worth of alcohol. He took off into the woods behind the store. Ofc. Luis Diaz tracked him a good bit until he lost him. As hot as it is I would have probably given up and jumped in the back of the air-conditioned patrol car.
Officers arrested two people last week, well we actually arrested one person once and another fellow we arrested twice. The first arrest occurred on Wisdom Road @ Norvell St. Officers stopped a bicyclist for not having lights on his bike. The peddler had an active felony warrant out of Bexar Co. for credit/debit card abuse. The second arrest occurred at a domestic disturbance on Bruce St. The suspect was booked on a charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member, this occurred on July 31. The same suspect participated in another incident that occurred on July 27 and officers were working to get warrants (4) on that situation. The warrants were obtained, and the suspect was served while he was still in jail. Those charges include a felony of endangering a child.
Overall, it wasn’t that busy of a week. It was nice because we could spend some time catching up on other cases.
We had about 3 pursuits from the south that either came into town or terminated just south of us. On one occasion, the vehicle came to a stop behind TXN Bank, and the occupants fled on foot. Another one ended just short of the city and 20 unauthorized immigrants fled on foot. Another pursuit from Frio Co. fizzled out before they got here. There is a genuine problem with human smuggling no doubt.
My primary focus is keeping Lytle safe, and my mind is always looking for ideas. Our Mayor, Ruben Gonzalez, beat me to it last week. He came up with the idea of using signs to deter the pursuits. We could have a “flipper” on them that would change the signs to make it appear you are headed south. When officers are notified of a pursuit, they open an app on their phone and remotely “flip” the signs. Those being pursued think they are headed in the wrong direction and turn around, thereby avoiding our city. I am sure that TXDOT would have issues with it, but I thought it was a clever idea. In conclusion, citizens should rest easy knowing that they have the full brain power of the Mayor and me working 24/7 365 days a year on their behalf.