San Angelo Law Enforcement Kept Busy with 122 Arrests and More Last Week

Last week was a busy one for San Angelo law enforcement despite December being the season of giving, being merry and bright. The crimes that topped the list of offenses included public intoxication, drug possession and domestic violence. Not to mention, a few juveniles thought they could evade arrest, and one previous felon pulled over for speeding got gifted with a few additional charges to add on his record.

Overall, there were 122 arrests from Tues., Dec. 15, through this past weekend, and out of those arrests, 71 consisted of new complaints. The rest were warrant-related.

Of those new complaints, eight people were arrested for public intoxication while 22 arrests related to possession of marijuana, controlled substances, drug paraphernalia and dangerous drugs. Additionally, law enforcement agencies were extremely busy going out to calls related to family violence; eight individuals were booked for assaulting and causing bodily harm to family members.

San Angelo Police also dealt with a few unruly juveniles. On Saturday evening, at approximately 8:50 p.m., off-duty SAPD officers were working at the mall when security there notified them about two juveniles, a 15-year-old female and a 13-year-old male, who were told to leave the property but refused.

Officer Tracy Gonzalez, public information & social media officer for SAPD, said mall security staff requested a criminal trespass warning be issued to the juveniles. When the officers attempted to make contact with the teenagers, they fled on foot and ran towards the Petco parking lot at 4157 Sunset Dr.

“[A] pursuing officer reportedly yelled, ‘Stop!’, multiple times and the juveniles looked back and acknowledged the officers but kept running,” Gonzalez stated.

Gonzalez added that the 13-year-old male was caught in the Petco parking lot by a patrol officer who responded to help. The 15-year-old female, who initially tried to hide inside Petco, was apprehended by one of the original pursuing officers and backup officers who responded to the chase. After she was taken into custody, the female juvenile became argumentative and yelled profanity at the officers.

“After the teens were taken into custody, their parents were called and the teens were transported back to the mall,” Gonzalez explained. “Officers later learned from mall staff that the teens were asked to leave numerous times but refused.”

Additionally, the juveniles went inside the Chick-fil-A where they were asked to leave but refused. They began to yell in a very disruptive manner towards mall staff.

“The juveniles were issued Criminal Trespass warnings from the property, which was communicated to their parents,” Gonzalez said. “The teens were charged with Evading Arrest/Detention on Foot, and were transported to the Tom Green County Juvenile Justice Center.”

Gonzalez also said police learned there may have been two or three more teens with the suspects, but they fled the mall when they learned police had been called. Those teens were not located.

In another incident over the weekend, but on Sunday, a trooper with the Department of Public Safety stopped Sylvester Martin, 59, for speeding. During that stop, the trooper detected an odor of marijuana, which gave him “probable cause to search the vehicle,” stated Trooper Justin Baker, public information officer for DPS in San Angelo.

Through the search, the trooper found less than two ounces of marijuana and arrested Martin.

“During an inventory of the vehicle, a small caliber gun was discovered. Anything involving a handgun is a class B misdemeanor and unlawful carrying of a weapon, so he was arrested as well for that,” Baker explained.

Baker said while booking Martin, officials pulled up his criminal history and discovered he was a convicted felon, so the charge was changed to Unlawful Possession of Firearm by Felon. Also, in identifying the weapon through the serial number, officials observed the serial number had been scratched off. That added a Tamper w/Identification Numbers to Martin’s arrest.

As for the rest, here are the other complaints that made the booking list:

• Driving While License Invoked/No DL: 5
• Accident Involving Damage to Vehicle: 1
• Theft of Property: 4
• ICE Hold: 1
• DWI: 7
• Criminal Trespass: 5
• Fail to Identify Fugitive from Justice: 4
• Permitting Child to Drive Under 18: 2
• TDCJ Hold: 7
• Resisting/Evading Arrest, Search or Transport: 6
• Border Patrol Hold: 1
• Theft Class C: 1
• Unlawful Carrying of Weapon: 1
• Display Fictitious Motor Vehicle Registration: 1
• Theft of Service: 2