SAN ANTONIO – The theft of a San Antonio Police Department patrol car early Tuesday morning hit close to home for Lytle’s police chief in more ways than one.
The patrol car, which was taken around 4 a.m. during a traffic stop on San Antonio’s Southwest Side, was found later at the end of a dirt road within Lytle city limits.
A preliminary report from SAPD said when officers stopped a car on Palo Alto Road not far from Interstate 35, two men inside it jumped out and ran.
Officers ran after them but lost sight of the men.
At some point, the two men then doubled back to the patrol car, jumped into it and drove off, the report said.
Other officers gave chase, and with the help of other agencies, including the Lytle Police Department, they recovered the car nearly 20 miles away, off Live Oak Street in Lytle.
They also arrested one of the suspects, Michael Aguirre, 21. The second man got away.
Lytle Police Chief Richard Priest said Aguirre is someone who his agency has arrested on numerous occasions in the past.
As for the patrol car theft, Priest said it is something he doesn’t see every day, although he long feared it could happen.
“I’m kind of old-style and not that coordinated, so I’ll sometimes jump out and leave my car running,” he said.
While watching video of the chase later, Priest admitted he was a bit confused initially. He was expecting to see police chasing a whole different car.
“I was looking, like, ‘All these guys, where are they going? You know, who are they following?’” he said. “And my captain’s, like, ‘The first one. It’s a stolen police car, remember?’”
For people in Lytle, the chase and subsequent arrest were a rare sight.
“A little bit of excitement for this area. We’re kind of secluded up here,” said Ira Collins, who woke up to the sights and sounds outside his bedroom window.
“There were about ten police cars, lights going everywhere, and they were shining down in the field behind our neighbors,” he said. “There was a drone flying over our field.”
The middle-of-the-night wakeup call left Collins and his wife unable to go back to sleep.
Knowing that at least one suspect was arrested, though, will help them to rest a bit easier.
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