By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A 44-year-old Val Verde County man was arrested and charged with felony theft after allegedly stealing a van outside a local grocery store.
Juan Carlos Gonzales, 130 Dogwood St., was arrested about 1 p.m. on June 15 and has been charged with the offense of theft of property, greater or equal to $2,500, less than $30,000, a state jail felony, according to police and court records.
In an affidavit filed in the case, Del Rio Police Department Officer Frank Hernandez reported he was dispatched to the H-E-B grocery store, 500 Pecan St., at 10:24 a.m. on June 15 in reference to a stolen van.
“I made contact with the victim, who stated she was visiting H-E-B to purchase groceries. After she concluded her shopping, she returned to the H-E-B parking lot and noticed her vehicle was missing,” Hernandez wrote.
He said the woman described the van as a blue 2003 Mazda MPV LX ES with Texas license plates. The woman told Hernandez the van was valued at $4,000.
Hernandez said when he looked around the parking lot, he noticed a surveillance camera mounted on the north side of the building and made contact with the store manager, who allowed the officer to review footage recorded by the security camera.
Hernandez said he saw the woman drive into the H-E-B parking lot, park the van and go into the store.
“At this time, (I saw) a male subject wearing blue jeans, blue striped shirt . . . a black hat and a Nike backpack with a large checkmark on it. I observed the male enter the victim’s vehicle and drive the vehicle off scene,” Hernandez wrote.
Hernandez said shortly after 1 p.m. on the same day, he was dispatched to 1105 W. De La Rosa St. in reference to the stolen van.
“I made contact with the caller, who stated he observed the vehicle parked in the Perez parkway parking lot. The caller confronted the male and confirmed it was the same male that officers were able to identify at H-E-B. The caller stated the suspect exited the vehicle and began running towards the park,” Hernandez wrote.
Officers arrived and found a man matching the description of the suspect. The man was identified as Gonzales and arrested on the felony theft charge.
Justice of the Peace Pct. 4 Hilda Lopez set a bond of $3,500 in the case.
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