CONVERSE, Texas – De Maine Rose, 29, was arrested Wednesday after leading Converse police on a chase near the 9200 block of Schaefer Road.
Dulce Martinez contacted police and reported her husband's vehicle had been broken into and his tools and other items had been stolen.
A neighbor's security camera caught the theft shortly after 4 a.m. that morning. Over the course of about three minutes, the recording shows two people pulling up then going back and forth between their vehicle and the vehicle from which the tools were stolen, before driving off.
Almost an hour earlier on the recording, a lone figure could be seen walking through the frame, checking out the neighbor's vehicle. Lt. Jeff Shook with Converse Police said that's consistent with how thieves scout targets.
Shook said he had not examined the recording closely enough to say for certain who it shows.
After the theft, Martinez told police that the stolen property was being advertised for sale on the mobile site Offer Up for $150. The tools, however, Martinez said, were valued at $3,000.
Martinez arranged to buy her stolen property back and coordinated with Converse police so they would be at the scene at the time of the meetup.
Rose and an unidentified woman drove a black Nissan Murano to the meet up when the woman got out of the car and attempted to sell the stolen items back to Martinez while Rose waited in the driver's seat.
"I told her 'Y’all stole this from my house,' and her eyes got big and the guy in the driver's seat looked back at me and at her and he floored it and sped off," Martinez said.
Martinez told KSAT she managed to grab the toolbox as Rose sped off, leaving the female passenger behind.
Officers pulled up to the scene when Rose took off with the trunk still open and pursued the vehicle south on FM 1516.
Rose lost control of the vehicle when he tried taking a turn and crashed into a utility pole.
He tried to flee on foot but was apprehended in the backyard of a residence, police said.
"It’s so upsetting because this is our livelihood and without, tools my husband can’t work," Martinez said.
Rose is being charged with theft and evading arrest. The woman is also considered a suspect in the case.