Potentially Stolen Property Located in Car After Meth Head Flees on Foot

A traffic stop gone car chase turned up several potentially stolen goods in Tom Green County early Monday morning, as deputies inventoried a car left by a 30-year-old meth head on the run.

According to a report written by Deputy Graham Smith, a vehicle was traveling northbound on 87 N. near Ballard Road, when the deputy noticed it was missing a license plate lamp. Smith turned on his blue and red flashing lights and attempted to make a traffic stop, and the vehicle moved over to the shoulder still moving north and headed toward Floyd Lane. All of a sudden, the driver punched the gas, accelerating in a wide right turn that nearly slung him off the roadway, headed north on Floyd.

[[{"fid":"15865","view_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"alt":"Shane Watkins ran from deputies Monday morning, leaving meth and stolen property behind in his car. (Photo/TGCJ)","title":"Shane Watkins ran from deputies Monday morning, leaving meth and stolen property behind in his car. (Photo/TGCJ)","height":"483","width":"387","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]After traveling a short distance, the driver braked and flipped on the left turn signal. He eventually stopped in the 9500 block of Floyd Lane. Deputy Graham then got out with his weapon drawn and ordered the driver out of the vehicle. When the man got out, Graham recognized him immediately from the county jail as Shane Watkins. Watkins was told to walk backward toward the patrol car with his hands up. He then lie down on the ground, following the deputy’s instructions, and relayed that there was a girl in the car.

Despite there being a gun trained on him, Watkins then leapt to his feet and ran to the north, finally jumping a fence on the east side of the road and continuing on north from there. Deputy Graham called for backup then turned his attention to the female in the vehicle, who was immediately placed in handcuffs. She verified the driver’s name as Shane Watkins then relayed what personal items in the car belonged to her.

While Deputy A.J. Rios began scouring the area for Watkins, Deputy Graham continued to inventory the car so it could be towed.  In the driver’s side door, he located a .40 caliber handgun magazine and two cell phones. The gun, a Glock 27 stolen out of Scurry County, was found wedged between the driver’s seat and the center console. Near the gun, Deputy Graham located another cell phone then moved on to the back seat, where he found two bags, one containing a hypodermic needle and a metal container filled with meth, the other holding a meth pipe and a prescription drug bottle with 11 green pills. A Verizon Jetpack wireless hotspot and a brown pouch with six unique coins were also found inside.

“Due to several recent burglaries, I secured several items as evidence for being potentially stolen property,” Graham noted in his report.

Shane Watkins has not been apprehended. The vehicle he was driving was towed by Home Motors and the property located inside was seized and tagged into evidence. The case has been handed to the Criminal Investigations Division at the sheriff’s office for further investigation.

Watkins has a criminal history including three prior felony convictions for theft, forgery and possession of a controlled substance. The charges being investigated in relation to Monday’s incident include possession of a stolen handgun, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine and evading arrest.