By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Five men were arrested after Del Rio Police Department officers were called to investigate several vehicle burglaries on West 15th Street.
DRPD Senior Officer Dulce Gonzalez said Monday the arrests came after police were called to investigate several vehicle burglaries Tuesday, Nov. 9. Gonzalez said DRPD Officer Darian Castro was dispatched to a residence in the 500 block of West 15th Street to speak with Hector Treviño, who reported someone had burglarized his pickup truck and his father’s pickup truck.
Treviño told the officer three pair of sunglasses valued at a total of $645 and a wallet valued at $40 had been taken from his gray 2015 Dodge pickup, and a pair of sunglasses valued at $180 had been taken from his father’s 2013 Ford F150 pickup while the two vehicles were parked outside the Treviño home. Treviño told police he believed the burglary had occurred at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Castro reported while speaking to Treviño, a neighbor approached and said his niece’s vehicle, also parked nearby, had been burglarized.
Castro said Rolando Gonzalez reported his niece found the driver’s side door of her Toyota slightly open. When she opened the door, she found several items out of place, and her beige and gold purse, valued at $30 and containing personal identification papers, including a Texas driver’s permit, was missing.
Castro reported as he was interviewing the vehicle owners, he heard a fight on a property across the street and called for additional officers to assist him.
“Castro then reported that he was pursuing a tan-colored sport utility vehicle that had just left the location and provided other officers with a direction of travel. The SUV came to a stop at Avenue T and East 10th Street, where officers conducted a felony stop and found the vehicle was occupied by several men,” Gonzalez said.
“A subsequent investigation revealed that the men inside the vehicle had made forced entry into a residence located in the 500 block of West 15th Street in an attempt to assault a man who lived there,” she added.
Gonzalez said the man at the residence whom the four men in the SUV were trying to assault “is a suspect for multiple burglaries.”
She noted DRPD Senior Officer Estevan Hernandez found blood on the back patio of the residence where the fight occurred and found evidence of forced entry on the back door.
“Officers then did a protective sweep of the residence to make sure no other subjects were hiding inside. While conducting the sweep, officers located a man inside the residence,” Gonzalez said.
Near him, the officers reported they found drug paraphernalia and a Texas driver’s permit belonging to the victim of one of the earlier vehicle burglaries.
“The officers also located personal identifying information belonging to Mr. Treviño, who had reported his wallet had been taken from his truck,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said officers arrested Christian Gabriel Soriano, 21, 508 W. 15th St., and charged him with the offense of fraudulent use/possession of identifying information, a state jail felony.
Gonzalez said the officers also arrested the four men who were in the sport utility vehicle that had sped away from Soriano’s residence.
The four men were identified as the driver, Manuel Calo, 33, 110 Jodobo Drive; and the passengers, George Christopher Giron, 33, 1010 E. Gibbs St.; Anival Cuellar, 44, 205 E. Second St.; and Cesar Treviño, 38, 131 Cora Ave.
Calo was charged with the offense of evading arrest/detention with a vehicle, a third-degree felony, and Giron, Cuellar and Treviño were each charged with the offense of engaging in ongoing criminal activity, a first-degree felony.
Gonzalez said someone also reported to police that a gun might have been used during the altercation at Soriano’s house.
She said on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 10:37 a.m., DRPD Officer Jacob Valadez was waved down by a man walking in the 800 block of West 10th Street.
“The man said he wished to report to police that he had discovered a handgun behind his yard,” Gonzalez said.
Valadez reported he located the firearm, described as a .22-caliber, black with a brown grip. The firearm was found to be loaded, with a .22 round in the chamber. The firearm was made safe by the officer, recovered and submitted into evidence, Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said police believe the gun may have been the one seen during the incident at the Soriano house.
She said the incident remains under investigation.
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