Four Car Dealership Burglaries Still Under Investigation

Burglar alarms sounded from July 1 to July 5, when four San Angelo car dealerships were hit by bandits, all of which remain on the loose. Currently, the value of items stolen or damaged is in the process of being assessed, and each of the four incidents remain under investigation.

The first burglary was reported on July 1 at All American Chevrolet, followed by Mitchell Toyota on July 3, and Honda of San Angelo and Jim Bass Nissan on July 5. Representatives from the first three stores were unavailable for comment, however Jim Bass Nissan owner Jim Bass explained the extent of the damage at his store as minimal.

“I don’t have a value yet, but they damaged our phone lines, telecommunications stuff,” he said Monday. “I’m waiting on Verizon to come out and put it all together and fix it up. It’s a box where all the wires come into.”

Bass said he’d heard of only one of the burglaries earlier in the week at All American Chevrolet, and had assumed it was an isolated incident. When his burglar alarm sounded on July 5 at 11:37 p.m., he said he was lucky that the police had responded so deftly.

“The police promptly responded so quickly that the guy didn’t have a chance to damage anything,” he said. “We were fortunate that they were able to get here so quickly and do their job so well.”

According to Bass, the burglar, later identified as 36-year-old Bradley Lynn Bishop, had made it into the building before police arrived, but hadn’t had time to do any damage. Other dealerships sustained damage to the building and had their offices turned upside down, and Bass feared the Nissan house might have suffered a similar fate if Bishop had had more time inside.

“Most people don’t pay by cash, but there would have been some,” he said. “He could have broken into the key closet and maybe stolen a vehicle. I don’t know if he was looking for stuff he could pawn for [money for] drugs or…I don’t know. We keep our customer information secure and a car deal or credit apps, they’re all locked up. We safeguard customer information. I don’t know if this guy was after money, vehicles, trying to do identity theft, I don’t know.”

Since the break in, Bass said he and his employees are remaining diligent and locking up, tightening up security measures and increasing security. They are also reviewing surveillance footage of the night of the incident with the hopes of gleaning further information.

Whether or not Bishop acted alone or as a part of a group is still under investigation and further information has not yet been released. Sunday evening, Bishop fled the hospital and is wanted by San Angelo police. Tuesday evening, the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office and SAPD responded to a house in Veribest, where Bishop is reported to have been located. After a search, Bishop was not found at remains at large. 

Jim Bass says that when the criminal or criminals responsible for the break in is caught, he won’t be taking it lightly. “We take it serious, any crime against us and we’ll prosecute to the fullest and stand behind the police in what they do.”