San Angelo Car Thieves Caught by Karma

The adrenaline is pumping, the driver’s getting reckless. Two police helicopters pursue the perp from the air, communicating fervently with units on the ground as the news copter reports the automobile-on-the-run has just swerved to avoid a collision with a gas tanker.

The perp is on foot. Will he make it? And all of a sudden the dogs are out...

That might have been the dream on Tuesday evening when 17 year-old Ty H. Adams and his 15 year-old accomplice hit the road in a stolen Mercury Cougar, but the truth is, not all car thefts are great.

The call came around 5:30 p.m.  It was a routine missing vehicle report and San Angelo Police were dispatched to the vicinity of Bonham and E. 40th Streets where they learned that a vehicle had been missing since earlier that afternoon from Lakeview High School. It was a 1995 Mercury Cougar.

An SAPD press release states that while on the call, police received information that Tom Green County Sherriff’s Deputies were detaining two male suspects who were attempting to flee the scene of a crash; a crash that involved a 1995 Mercury Cougar.

Apparently, Adams and his compadre’s joy ride had been cut short by an inanimate object in the 1600 block of E. 50th Street just outside of city limits. The two had hit a fence. Literally.

Following a field investigation, Adams was arrested for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and transported to the Tom Green County Jail. The 15 year-old was released to his guardians.

Deputies also learned that two other male suspects had fled the scene after the crash, and as the investigation gained momentum, acquired the names of the additional suspects.

On Wednesday, police interviewed the suspects, which led to the arrest of the juvenile who had previously been released, as well as another 15 year-old and a 14 year-old for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.

During the interview, police recovered a suspected stolen laptop and several pieces of jewelry from one of the 15 year-olds, and linked the group to a recently recovered stolen white Surburban after having found evidence indicating the quartet inside the vehicle.

The effort was a joint investigation by the SAPD Patrol and Criminal Investigative Divisions. Police believe that the group may also be behind other open burglaries and state in the press release that other charges may be added at a later date.