SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department has identified three suspected car burglars whom officers took into custody on Thursday evening.
The suspects are Adrian Isaac Hernandez and Oscar Carvajal, who are both 19, and 18-year-old Lincoln Gauge Mertins.
SAPD spokesperson Washington Moscoso said Thursday the suspects were caught trying to break into a car Thursday morning on the West Side.
Officers also learned that the vehicle burglary call involved the same people from an earlier robbery call that was dispatched around 6 a.m. Thursday, police said.
The car’s owner came out to defend their property, but the suspects brandished a weapon, according to police. Officers said the suspects fled, but nearby patrolmen pursued them from an area near Loop 410 and Ingram Road to a home located on Westlyn Drive.
SAPD said Mertins was taken into custody near the intersection of Bronco Lane and Spur Drive on Thursday after a short pursuit in a second stolen vehicle.
According to Bexar County jail records, Mertins is facing six charges stemming from Thursday’s incident:
- aggravated robbery (first-degree felony)
- vehicle burglary (misdemeanor)
- evading arrest with a vehicle (third-degree felony)
- unlawfully carrying a weapon (misdemeanor)
- tampering with evidence (third-degree felony)
- theft of property valued between $30,000 and $150,000 (third-degree felony)
A Bexar County judge set his combined bond of all charges at $155,000, court documents show.
Moscoso described the Westlyn Drive home as “a nuisance house” where officers previously recovered stolen property.
SAPD also said Thursday its SWAT team set up a perimeter around the home and asked a potential fourth suspect to surrender.
In a Friday afternoon statement, however, the department clarified that only three suspects were taken into custody. Hernandez and Carvajal were in the home and were subsequently arrested.
Hernandez is facing three charges in connection with Thursday’s incident:
- aggravated robbery (first-degree felony)
- vehicle burglary (misdemeanor)
- intent to give false information (misdemeanor)
A judge set his bond on these charges at $130,000, records show.
Jail records also show that he was wanted on an unrelated evading arrest charge, a third-degree felony, in March 2024. Court records show Hernandez has been remanded without bond on that charge.
Carvajal was arrested on an aggravated robbery charge, according to county records. His bond was set at $100,000.
In all, authorities said two stolen vehicles and other stolen property were recovered at the home.
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