KYLE, Texas - The Kyle Police Department made four arrests in September that resulted in 70 charges involving vehicle burglaries, fraud, identity theft, and credit/debit card abuse.
Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett is reminding residents to hide or remove valuables from inside vehicles as well as ensure all doors are locked before leaving a vehicle unattended. If you find someone attempting to burglarize a vehicle in your neighborhood, Barnett said to contact the police and to observe the suspect from the safety of your home.
“Many of these arrests happened because of an alert resident or officer,” Barnett said in a release. “And because of that, we have been able to arrest several individuals that were targeting the Kyle community for theft. We always want to encourage our residents, ‘if you see something, please say something.’”
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The Kyle Police Department made four recent arrests in September that resulted in 70 charges involving vehicle burglaries, fraud, identity theft, and credit/debit card abuse.
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On Sept. 2, a call came in just before 4:30 a.m. from a resident watching someone break into their vehicle on Cowboy Cove. Kyle police located the suspect and attempted to initiate a traffic stop.
The suspect, later identified as a 16-year-old from Austin, attempted to flee in a vehicle later identified as stolen and then on foot. Officers found him in the backyard of a home on Western Drive and took him into custody. Police say that officers, upon searching the vehicle, found a number of stolen items including 19 credit/debit cards and 35 documents with identifying information.
The teen was charged with one count of second-degree felony possession of identifying information; third-degree felony evading arrest/detention with a motor vehicle; one count of state-jail felony unauthorized use of a vehicle; state-jail felony evading arrest/detention; 19 counts of state-jail felony credit/debit card abuse; and three counts of theft of driver's license, a Class B misdemeanor. He was taken to the Hays County Juvenile Detention Center.
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On Sept. 14, a call came in just before 2 a.m. from a complainant on Paddington Drive. The caller stated that they observed a pickup truck park, turn off its light and two teenagers get out and began to check door handles of nearby cars.
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Officers found the truck and found crack and marijuana in plain view, as well as a sawed-off Ruger .22 rifle, says Kyle police. Police Both suspects, identified as 16-year-olds from Austin, were found and taken into custody. One of the suspects was the same teen that had been arrested in the Sept. 2 incident.
They were both charged with state-jail felony evading arrest/detention; state-jail felony possession of a controlled substance Penalty Group 1; possession of a controlled substance Penalty Group 3, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of a dangerous drug, a Class A misdemeanor; burglary of a motor vehicle, a Class A misdemeanor; theft of property $100-$750, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana <2oz, a Class B misdemeanor. One was also charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon, a Class A misdemeanor. Both suspects were taken to the Hays County Juvenile Detention Center.
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A Kyle officer found a stolen motorcycle in the parking lot of an Exxon on I-35 while on routine patrol on Sept 12 just before 12:30 a.m.
The suspect, identified as Bryan Drake, 44, of Dallas, had a warrant out for his arrest out of Dallas County. Officers found multiple items of fraudulent identifying information, mail, credit cards, and items to create his own credit cards during a search, as well as a room key card to a motel in Kyle, says police.
Bryan Drake (Kyle Police Department)
A search warrant was obtained for the room and additional fraudulent IDs, mail, receipts with fraudulent purchases from Kyle businesses, a stolen check, and more items to create or tamper with credit cards were found.
Drake was charged with a total of 14 charges including one count of second-degree felony possession of identifying information; one count of state-jail felony unauthorized use of vehicle; 10 counts of state-jail felony credit card abuse; one count of state-jail felony theft of mail; and one count of possession of stolen check, a Class A misdemeanor. Drake was taken to Hays County Jail.
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Later that same night just before 2 a.m., an officer identified fake temporary tags on an SUV at a Stripes on I-35. Police say the officer spoke with the driver while they were putting gas in the vehicle and received consent to search the SUV.
During the search, the officer located more than 14 credit cards, three Texas IDs, one Florida ID, and two Lone Star Cards that did not belong to the driver.
Rhonda Alexander (Kyle Police Department)
The suspect was identified as Rhonda Alexander, 47, a resident of Kyle. Alexander was charged with one count of third-degree felony fraudulent use/possession of ID and 14 counts of state-jail felony credit card abuse. Alexander was taken to Hays County Jail.