Brothers say playing 'Pokemon Go' leads them to criminals on the run

Men say pair had passed bad checks

BLANCO, Texas – A pair of brothers looking for Pokemon at a Blanco gas station helped catch a lot more than that Friday night.

While playing the popular app "Pokemon Go," Richard Garza and his brother Michael Garza spotted two people they say had passed them bad checks in June. After the two alerted a nearby deputy, Andrew Rauhut, 45, and Leah Weidel, 40, were arrested and taken to the Blanco County Jail.

"We got two dumb criminals that came back to the scene of the crime that got caught with a video game," said Richard Garza. "You can't write this stuff up."

Garza said Rauhut and Weidel stayed at his family's business, the Swiss Lodge Motel in Blanco, less than two miles up the road in June. However, the two checks they used to pay were returned due to "frozen/blocked account," according to Garza's records. He said attempts to contact them afterward were unsuccessful.

Fast-forward to Friday night Garza and his brother were at the Stripes station looking for Pokemon. In a video Richard recorded of his game for his YouTube channel, Michael can be heard exclaiming, "Oh! That's the guy with the bounced check!"

The brothers found a Blanco County deputy sheriff who was fueling up at the station and told him what had happened.

"The moment I pointed over to their car from the officer is when they took off from the parking lot," Garza said.

They didn't get far. The Blanco County Sheriff's Office said in a news release the deputy stopped the vehicle near Koch Road, about 3 1/2 miles south of the gas station

According to the release, Rauhut and Weidel were in a stolen vehicle with a license plate that was not for the vehicle. During a vehicle inventory, stolen property and illegal narcotics were found.

To top it off, Rauhut had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Collin County.

Rauhut and Weidel were each booked into the Blanco County Jail on charges of possession of a controlled substance between 1 and 4 grams. Weidel was also charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Garza said they still need to officially press charges about the checks, but the arrests had him feeling good.

"Instant karma," he said of the arrest. "It felt amazing."


About the Author:

Garrett Brnger is a reporter with KSAT 12.