SAN ANTONIO – Two teens have been charged with multiple felonies after police say they were part of a crime ring that stole nearly one dozen vehicles.
Erik Lozano-Velasco, 18, was arrested Monday on charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle, evading arrest, engaging in organized criminal activity and unlawful carry of a weapon, Bexar County records show.
Alex Lopez, 17, was arrested Monday on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and theft $30,000<$150,000, records show.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Lozano-Velasco was seen street racing in a stolen 2016 purple Dodge Charger on Feb. 26 in downtown San Antonio.
Police attempted to initiate a traffic stop but “lost visual of the vehicle due to its high-performance engine,” the affidavit states.
The San Antonio Police Department helicopter was dispatched and located the stolen charger as it fled toward Guadalupe County but the chopper had to turn around due to poor weather conditions. It was later determined Lozano-Velasco was also using a website that tracks Texas Department of Public Safety and SAPD aircraft data to evade the chopper.
Police located the Dodge Charger later that evening in the 900 block of Pine Meadow Road in Seguin.
The affidavit states that the Charger was equipped with emergency police lights, despite not being an emergency vehicle.
Inside the Charger, police found four Dodge key fobs and live ammunition.
According to the affidavit, police then tracked down the owner of the Charger who said the vehicle was stolen from his driveway on Feb. 10. Police determined that the victim’s key fobs no longer worked for the Charger because the suspects who stole it, including Lozano-Velasco, possibly reprogrammed the keys.
Additionally, the affidavit states that police found photos on Lozano-Velasco’s Instagram page of him with the stolen Charger. Police obtained a warrant to access Lozano-Velasco’s Instagram account and found that he was talking to another person about reprogramming keys to steal Dodge vehicles.
Based on his Instagram account, police were able to determine that Lozano-Velasco was a student at Somerset High School, where there were several reported incidents involving Lozano-Velasco and a “purple Charger” driving recklessly in the school parking lot in recent weeks.
The affidavit states that Lozano-Velasco’s father told authorities that his son refused to go to school and had left the family home but did not say when.
A warrant was issued for Lozano-Velasco’s arrest on Monday, April 3.
After his arrest, Lozano-Velasco admitted to stealing the Charger, according to a separate arrest warrant affidavit for a known associate of Lozano-Velasco, Alex Lopez.
He told police that he and Lopez stole the Charger together and that they broke the rear window to gain access to the car before reprogramming it.
Lozano-Velaso told police that he and three other people, including Lopez, have stolen approximately 10 vehicles that they sold intact or for parts. He said the group has made around $20,000 and that someone named “Miguel” dictates the amount of money each receives, depending on their role in the theft.
He also told police that Miguel had a device that he purchase online that reprograms keys.
Lozano-Velaso further told police on the night of the pursuit that he was in possession of a tan-colored Glock handgun, which he threw out the window when he abandoned the Charger. The gun was later recovered.
At least five more Dodge keys were found in Lopez and Lozano-Velasco’s possession on Monday after police executed a search warrant.
Lozano-Velaso is being held at the Bexar County jail with bonds totaling $37,000.