SAN ANTONIO – Three burglary suspects who police said entered a Leon Valley cellphone store by cutting a hole through its wall have been taken into custody.
Officers caught up with them early Wednesday across town on San Antonio's Northeast Side.
Sgt. David Trevino, with the Leon Valley Police Department, said his department first found out about the burglary in a call from a cellphone tracking company.
Authorities then went to the business, located on Bandera Road near Huebner Road, and discovered a hole had been cut through the drywall, allowing the burglars to enter.
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"They utilized a vacant building next door and went through the wall," Trevino said.
Once inside, the burglars also cut into the safe and took several cellphones.
"I was told there was a blow torch and yeah, we do have safe," Trevino said. "We haven't been able to determine how deep they got, but there were some burn marks on it."
The burglars took off in a car, but Trevino said it was not long before officers were on their trail.
Trevino said the stolen cellphones were equipped with electronic tracking devices that allowed police to monitor their locations.
In fact, it was the monitoring company that first alerted police about the burglary, Trevino said.
"We did get an alarm activation earlier in the night, but at that time, there was no entry," Trevino said.
The call from the monitoring company came shortly before 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Within minutes, Leon Valley police realized the suspects' car was headed toward the San Antonio city limits.
SAPD officers soon began following the signal, which ultimately led them to a Northeast Side motel.
There, they took the three suspects into custody.
It was unclear right away whether they all would be arrested and what charges might be filed.