Sheriff's Office Busts Band of Burglars Hitting San Angelo and Wall

A man and woman identified during an investigation into several recent burglaries within San Angelo and Tom Green County have been arrested following a search of a house on Pulliam St. and a vehicle and foot pursuit through north San Angelo.

Eddie Lee Medrano, 33, and Vanessa Yvette Perez, 32, were taken into custody on Tuesday, Sept. 22, after running into different residences and attempting to hide from investigators.

According to Sheriff David Jones, deputies received a report of a burglary at a house on McCormick Drive in Wall on Monday at approximately 1:06 p.m. The sheriff reported that the homeowner returned to the residence while the burglary was in progress, but the suspect quickly fled the area.

Deputies responded to the residence and began collecting information, Jones said, at which point neighborhood witnesses described a vehicle that had been in the area and relayed they had seen a man running from the house. The description matched previous witness accounts from burglaries that had been occurring inside San Angelo, Jones said. 

The following morning, on Sept. 22, detectives with the TGCSO developed a lead on a suspect residing in the 400 block of Pulliam. As investigators worked to obtain a search warrant, deputies conducted surveillance on the residence and witnessed the male suspect, Medrano, carrying a black bag from the car to the house, accompanied by a female, later identified as Perez.

Deputies continued surveillance as the suspects left the residence in the vehicle, but when authorities attempted to stop the suspects, the driver sped up and began to evade. A vehicle chase then ensued, but the suspect slowed to a stop in the 3000 block Juanita. At that point, both Medrano and Perez leapt out of the vehicle and fled on foot with deputies in pursuit.

During the foot chase, Perez entered a residence with which she had no ties and attempted to hide in the restroom, Jones said. A woman was inside the residence during the event and was not harmed. Medrano was then apprehended hiding behind another residence.

Following their arrests, Medrano and Perez were transported to the Tom Green County Jail. Medrano was booked on a warrant for a parole violation, plus evading arrest charges. Perez was booked on two burglary warrants and an evading arrest charge. Sheriff Jones said Medrano will be facing additional burglary of a habitation charges on Wednesday. Charges are also expected to be filed on subjects that have been identified by the investigation that were involved with Medrano in the burglaries. 

During the search of the residence on Pulliam and of the suspects’ car, stolen property from several county and city burglaries was recovered. Detectives uncovered through their investigation evidence that indicated the car had been purchased on Sept. 21 with money stolen in the Wall burglary.

The Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Texas Department of Public Safety in the execution of the search warrant.