SAN ANTONIO – This weekend, KSAT exclusively shared video of a shocking moment when a man encountered two people attempting to steal his truck, before threatening him with a gun in an H-E-B parking lot.
The victim shared his story Sunday to explain what was going through his mind as he captured the moment on camera, which has now been seen more than 60,000 times.
Jaime Martinez, the owner of the truck, said he could not believe what happened.
“I was kind of in a panic,” Martinez said. “You don’t see that every day.”
Martinez was walking back to his truck with groceries when he found the two people attempting to steal it. He yelled out, startling them and causing them to leave the scene in a gray Dodge Charger.
But one of the suspects left his phone in the vehicle, causing them to return to the scene.
“I couldn’t believe that they came back,” Martinez said, “so I started recording because I wanted the evidence of this, something that I’d never seen before happened.”
When the suspect realized the phone was not in the truck, but in the hands of Martinez, he pulled out a firearm and began chasing after him.
“I thought it was over at that point,” Martinez said.
The suspects eventually left without the phone, but not before threatening to shoot Martinez at his home, saying they knew where he lived.
“I knew that phone was evidence, and I wanted them to get caught,” Martinez said. “I didn’t want to be a victim.”
Martinez said he is grateful that no one was hurt during the confrontation.
“I was alone, and nobody else got affected,” he said. “I thank God for that.”
Days after the incident, Martinez chose to share the video with KSAT in hopes that it would help catch the two suspects.
The San Antonio Police Department is still searching for the two men, and said the Dodge Charger has been linked to at least two prior vehicle theft cases in the area.
“I just want them to get caught,” Martinez said. “You know, they’re young, hopefully they get caught, they realize that they did it wrong and they can change for the better.”
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