SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio Police Department records employee has been arrested on serious charges related to an auto theft investigation. According to an arrest affidavit, 29-year-old Manuel Rubio is accused of sending a photograph of a vehicle to a suspect linked to the theft and accessing sensitive internal information without authorization.
Court records from Bexar County reveal that Rubio was taken into custody on Wednesday night. The charges stem from an investigation where a detective discovered a photo of a vehicle belonging to a theft suspect on a social media account linked to the case. The detective recognized this image as one sourced from the San Antonio Police Department’s (SAPD) digital records system.
This photograph was originally captured by SAPD’s EAGLE Helicopter and was uploaded by law enforcement into their investigative section. The detective’s investigation revealed that Rubio had sent this photo to the suspect using his personal phone number, raising significant concerns about his role as a civilian employee of the SAPD.
Further scrutiny into the case showed that Rubio was the sole individual who accessed the image in the SAPD system. Notably, he viewed the photo on the same day he communicated with the auto theft suspect via social media. This behavior has raised alarming questions regarding the integrity of the department’s information security protocols.
Moreover, the affidavit claims that Rubio informed the suspect of their police surveillance, potentially jeopardizing law enforcement safety and undermining the ongoing investigation. Additional allegations indicate that Rubio accessed confidential criminal justice information for various personal reasons, including inquiries into a pro basketball coach, his own family’s felony records, and details about a victim in an unrelated assault case.
During a subsequent interview with investigators, Rubio reportedly admitted to sending the photograph and accessing other classified information, acknowledging that his actions were in direct violation of city policy. This admission raises concerns about the training and oversight of personnel handling sensitive information within the police department.
Following his arrest, Rubio was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center with a combined bond set at $11,000, from which he has since been released. The SAPD now faces critical questions about safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining the trust of the community they serve.
