Hailing a getaway

Obviously he needed the money for a car.

San Antonio police arrested a man suspected in a robbery at a credit union who used a cab as his getaway car.

Police said the robbery happened about 2:15 p.m. on Thursday at the San Antonio Federal Credit Union on Bandera Road.

...

Police found the cab and the driver said he just dropped the man off.

(from KSAT-12)

I wish this story had more details, like:
1. Did the guy get the cab first, rob the bank, then leave? Or did he call for the ride after the deed?
2. Did the cabbie not find it odd that his fare told him to drive to a bank, to wait there, and then to drive away quickly when he returned?
3. Did he pay his fare from the stolen loot? Did the money he paid with have dye on it?
4. Did he tip the cabbie?
5. Does the cabbie get to keep the tip?
6. Does he get to keep the fare?

I am genuinely curious.

Get back to us, KSAT. San Antonio wants to know.

Dying on the ranch

The mayor of Hollywood Park has died.

He was killed by a donkey.

An aggressive donkey is being blamed for the death of Hollywood Park Mayor William “Bill” Bohlke.

He was found on his Atascosa County ranch about 50 yards from his truck about 10 p.m. Monday, at least 10 hours after a stud donkey apparently attacked him, Atascosa County Chief Deputy David Soward said Wednesday.

“They can become very aggressive, very mean, sometimes triggered by a female in heat,” Soward said. “We'll probably never know what triggered it, but it was evident that this particular donkey was involved, based on the evidence at the scene and what we saw on this donkey.”

When asked if Bohlke was kicked or trampled, Soward replied, “We can just surmise, based on the evidence that we have, all of that.”

(from the Express-News)

Strange. Very strange.

"Man found dead in Pearl Brewery smokestack"

Not something you expect to find every day at the work site.

A man believed to be a construction worker whose family told police he'd been missing for days was found dead at the bottom of a smokestack at the Pearl Brewery on Tuesday.

Workers reported smelling a foul odor and called police to the 300 block of Pearl Parkway just before 1 p.m.

...

Police believe he had been working on a construction project in a building adjacent to the smokestack, which bears the words “PRIDE” and “PEARL” in large white letters. He apparently was inside a covered walkway that connects to the smokestack when he fell to the bottom from a height of about 20 feet, [San Antonio Police Department Sgt. Javier] Salazar said.

(from the Express-News)

Have you ever hung out in a smokestack? By yourself?

"Man proposed marriage to girlfriend after Family Dollar robbery"

Because nothing says love quite like an equal stake in aggravated robbery.

Police say a man identified as Sean Foxx, 27, proposed to his girlfriend, Treila Woods, 24, after the pair had just been arrested in connection with an aggravated robbery at a Family Dollar Store.

Investigators said Foxx was in a getaway car outside the store Monday morning waiting for Woods to come out.

Store managers claim Woods was shoplifting and attempted to stop her as she was leaving through a broken door. Foxx saw what happened and then went inside, police said.

...

Foxx and Woods were arrested a short time later and charged with aggravated robbery.

Police said after the arrest Foxx popped the question and Woods accepted.

(from KSAT-12)

And what's next? Marriage, of course.


Does the Family Dollar take wedding registries? Perhaps all could be forgiven, then.

Someone who really needs to find a hobby

One that doesn't involve telephone calls of any kind.

A 22 year old man is facing charges after police say he allegedly made several calls to 911.

"He called four times in 28 minutes, and there was no emergency, officers determined that once they went out to the suspects residence, " said Officer Matthew Porter with SAPD.

Officer Porter went on to say Walton was making calls to 911 while police were already at his home, "The individual was cursing at the operator, " replied Porter.

(from WOAI-TV)

Help, damn you! The cops are after me! I can hear them in the other room! It's true!!!

"Screaming man pulled from Mission San José"

Now here's something you don't expect to see in an old Spanish mission in San Antonio:

A Heat fan.

Father Tony Posadas, pastor of Mission San José, said the man entered the roped-off sanctuary and started to move furniture around to create a private prayer area for himself.

Park rangers noticed and told him to move away, but he became violent, throwing furniture and toppling potted plants in the sanctuary, Posadas said.

Authorities used pepper spray and a stun gun to subdue the man, Posadas said, then took him away in handcuffs around 12:30 p.m. — about 90 minutes after his outburst began.

(from the Express-News)

Car crashes into house

Egad! The offensive is real! The surge is under way!

Ruben Chavez and his girlfriend, Denise Ramos, left their west San Antonio home to get food from McDonald's. When they returned, a vehicle had driven through their house.

...

Ramos and Chavez live in the 700 block of S. Navidad. Emergency crews were called out to the home just before 2 a.m. for a car that smashed into their home.

The 21-year-old man who was driving the vehicle was in the driveway, according to San Antonio police. He reportedly hit the accelerator instead of the brakes. That sent his vehicle barreling into the house.

(from KENS 5)

He's scared of cars, now.

Car crashes into house

I'm beginning to think the automobiles are waging a new offensive in their war against the domiciles, a surge, if you will.

A teenager is in big trouble with the police after crashing a car into another vehicle and a house.

The crash happened Sunday morning in the 6100 block of Jackies Farm.

Police said the teen crashed into a truck on Mystic Sunrise and tried to drive away, but that driver followed him.

The boy then sped through the eastside neighborhood and lost control, crashing into a driveway, a car, and a house, said police.

The car he hit went into the garage, badly damaging the home.

(from KSAT-12)

Hmmm. Sounds like that auto got some inside help.

Car crashes into house

No! Not a car, this time! Now the autos have enlisted Optimus Prime in their crusade against the abodes!

A southside family had a rude awakening Saturday when big rig crashed into a car then slammed into a section of their home.

The crash happened at a home in the 1800 block of Kendalia.

Police say the rig slammed into a car, then dragged it as it crashed into the home.

(from KSAT-12)

I bet that other car was a Decepticon.

Car crashes into house

No, make that through a house!

And that auto must have really had it in for that house, because it showed no indication that the owner's status as a police officer bothered it in the least bit.

It was supposed to be a simple home sale -- one police officer to another. In fact, they were all set to close at the end of this month.

That is, until both of the officers said their plans were wrecked by a truck smashing into that home early Friday morning.

San Antonio police said a 17-year-old driver was behind the wheel of a Toyota Tundra that slammed into the front of the home and stopped at the rear.

Inside of the house, pieces of the truck, damaged appliances, and an interior ripped apart by the crash were evident.

(from KENS-5)

Brave truck.

ADDED: This truck wimped out. It didn't dare take on a cop's house. It decided to take on the city's pound instead, thinking that the animals might be grateful to escape.

The accident happened around 12:15 p.m. Friday at the main [Animal Care Services] facility in the 4700 block of Highway 151. ACS spokesperson Lisa Norwood told News 4 WOAI the vehicle hit their training center. Norwood said it appeared a vehicle traveling on Highway 151 drove off the highway, over the grassy median and access road and then into the building.

(from WOAI-TV)

It only took out a training building, though. Better luck next time, truck

Thinking on the fly

There's only one thing I can think to say about this:

¡Puro San Antonio!

A medical helicopter missing half its landing gear came to a gentle rest on top of three mattresses during an emergency landing at San Antonio International Airport, where the aircraft was diverted after it struck a cellphone tower early Sunday.

Around 3:30 a.m., a PHI Air Medical chopper carrying one patient and three crew members hit a tower near Interstate 35 and Binz-Engleman Road, knocking off one of the aircraft's two skids, PHI spokesman Brad Deutser said.

...

[SAFD Captain Kevin] Campbell said the pilot, communicating through the airport's control tower, asked if firefighters had anything to put under the chopper so it could land.

... “He suggested mattresses, and I told Engine 23 to grab three or four mattresses from the dorm. We also brought out weights from our weight room to hold the mattresses down.”

...

“It was tense for a little bit,” Campbell said, “but we stacked the mattresses and weighted them down with four, 45-pound plate weights and he landed on top of it. It worked great.”

(from the Express-News)

Bonus strangeness: It sounds like that pilot has done this before! I don't know whether to be nervous or grateful for knowing that.

Your tax dollars at work

Or at play, depending on how you look at this.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting of an off-duty deputy in his home. However, the incident, initially, is being called “accidental.”

The deputy, who works as a detention officer at the Bexar County jail, was celebrating his 26th birthday when he was shot, according to sheriff’s investigators at the scene.

...

[Sgt. Louis] Antu said the deputy was in a bedroom of the home in the 2300 block of Marilyn Kay Street when he was shot in the hand with a shotgun, nearly severing his index finger.

The shooting happened during the deputy’s birthday party, and there were several people in the home at the time, including other off-duty detention officers, deputies and dispatchers, Antu said.

Because some of the party guests had been drinking alcohol, detectives, at first, had difficulty in getting information.

...

San Antonio Police Department records show at least two other calls at the home.

Police officers investigated a burglary at the deputy’s home in late July. In January, someone at that address suffered a drug overdose, police said.

(from KSAT-12)

Work hard, play hard. And all that.

Say, isn't the sheriff's job an elected position?

What happens on the South Side ...

... stays on the South Side. Who needs the Kickapoos when you've got eight-liners in fine establishments such as this in your own home town?

The Rodriguezes said [Shamsuddin] Momin is an old friend who came to them a few months ago, offering to rent out an old shed on their property on El Jardin Road.

Desperate for money, they said they agreed, thinking, at first, that he planned to use it to store some slot machines.

Instead, police said the storage shed became an illegal gambling parlor.

(from KSAT-12)

Sure, I'm just going to store some slot machines in the shed. That's all. Nothing to worry about. Don't mind the line of people going in there at 3:00 a.m., though. They're just techs.

Someone who should check a little closer

On the paperwork, that is.

San Antonio-based restaurant chain Sushi Zushi will reopen some locations as early as next week, CEO Alfonso Tomita said this morning.

All eight of Sushi Zushi's locations, which include four in the Alamo City, closed their doors on Friday after about 100 employees didn't show up to work because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was conducting an audit of the company, Tomita said. The chain employees about 500 people, he said, speaking to reporters at the location on Basse Road.

A sign hanging on the restaurant's door said Sushi Zushi is hiring for all positions. Tomita said it's particularly difficult to find sushi chefs. Executive chef Luis Ramirez is among those who didn't show up to work last week, Tomita said.

(from the Express-News)

One-fifth of your entire workforce fails to show up for work. Twenty percent. Because of a rumor. Because they are afraid of being deported.

Perhaps it's time to review your hiring practices, Mr. Tomita. You know, to make sure your employees don't all have the same SSN.

Bonus strangeness: Apparently it's "particularly difficult" to find Americans willing to be sushi chefs, so difficult you have to hire illegal immigrants instead.

Remember that next time you fork over $15 for a Yummy Yummy Roll.

Anyone should have seen this coming.

Diego Mascorro, 19, was charged with making terroristic threats through family violence, a Class A misdemeanor. Bail was set at $10,000.

Mascorro's mother went to police headquarters Monday to report that he'd threatened her recently after she locked him out of the house.

She said Mascorro was carrying a gun as he told his mother he could break down the door and get in if he wanted.

Police said his mother told them he “claims he is the king of the house and is untouchable.”

After his mother told him to go live with his father, Mascorro told the woman to go live with her mother, who's deceased, police said.

(from the Express-News)

And what, you might ask, was it that might have suggested that this guy would come to no good?

Perhaps this?

Friends don't let friends tattoo faces.

Sustenance and recreation

It looks like this guy was ready for the munchies.

A high-speed police chase ended in a crash, and police found meat and drugs inside the car.

...

A car matching the speeding vehicle's description crashed near the intersection of Piedmont and Drexel on San Antonio's southeast side.

The driver jumped out and ran, leaving the passenger to face the police.

Officers said they arrested the passenger and found a load of wrapped meat and some marijuana in the car.

(from KSAT-12)

Butcher, dealer ---- hey, when they're all in the same neighborhood, it makes sense to combine trips.

"S.W. Side ‘riot’ not that riotous"

Hahahahahaha!

About a dozen police officers responded to a call about an alleged riot in progress in a Southwest Side neighborhood this morning.

Former City Councilman and Texas House District 117 hopeful Phil Cortez was speaking to members of the media inside his home, where he alleged that his opponent in the Democratic runoff, lawyer Tina Torres, doesn’t live in the district.

Outside, meanwhile, the “riot” consisted of about a dozen pro-Torres protesters, who were chanting that Cortez shouldn’t spend his time keeping tabs on his opponent.

(from the Express-News Newswatch blog)

Man, sometimes you've just gotta love politics in this town.

Someone who should think a little more

About where he consumes the fruits of his endeavors, that it.

Police say the assault happened in the 100 block of Eross around 8 p.m. Thursday.

According to police, the suspect flagged down the ice cream van and somehow got inside.

He assaulted the driver and officers found him a short time later walking in the area with merchandise from the van.

(from KSAT-12)

Walking in the area. Just casually, I assume. With "merchandise from the van". Not a care for the cops at all.

But inquiring minds want to know: How much "merchandise" was he carrying? And was he worried about it melting (this is summer, you know)? Did he have a freezer handy? And what was he eating at the time? A drumstick? A fudgesicle? One of those weird foot-shaped things with a gumball in the big toe? Choco-taco?

Please, please television journalists, ask the right questions! I am genuinely curious!

Car crashes into house

Actually, it was an apartment building. And this time the automobile seems to have been on a course of vengeance on behalf of a human.

Police say 33-year-old Miguel Martinez Jr. was intoxicated when he crashed a 2002 Ford Expedition into an apartment in the 1300 block of Rigsby Road early Monday morning.

But as of Monday afternoon, he's not facing any charges, police said.

When police arrived at the scene of the crash, which occurred around 1:15 a.m., he was bleeding from the back of his head and his upper body was covered in blood.

And police say he's a victim.

According to a police report, Martinez got into an argument with neighbors, then several men used a steel pipe to hit him on both knees and in the back of the head.

Martinez told police that's the last thing he remembers. He said he doesn't remember getting into the SUV or crashing it.

(from KSAT-12)

Of course he doesn't remember. You don't have to when your capable SUV takes over to avenge the wrongs visited upon you.

Someone who should think a little more

About how to win friends and influence people. Especially cops.

Juan Jose Del Toro did whatever he could to escape police custody early Saturday, including attempting to bribe two officers — and attacking one of them — jumping about 14 feet onto a highway and then trying to cling to the side of an 18-wheeler, a recently released police report said.

When an officer stopped Del Toro ... he jumped out of the vehicle and tried to walk away, the report said. He refused to give the officer an ID and then told her there was a warrant out for his arrest and tried to bribe her with $50, according to the report.

When the officer attempted to handcuff him, Del Toro punched her in the face and she fought back ....

Del Toro ran south on Jackson Street and jumped to the lower level of Interstate 35 North. A second officer on the way to help saw an 18-wheeler pulled over and slowly moving forward, so he stopped his cruiser and ordered it to stop, the report said.

Del Toro was hanging on the outside of the cab's passenger side. Once he was in custody Del Toro upped the ante, the report said, this time offering $100 to the officer to let him go.

“I told (arrested person) that I wasn't going to prison for 10 years for a $100 bribe,” the officer wrote in the report of the conversation. “He replied ‘I won't tell anyone you took the money. It will be ok.'”

(from the Express-News)

You gotta love the way cops fill out reports sometimes. The littlest details may prove relevant. Or just kinda funny.