SAN ANTONIO – Early Tuesday morning, something unusual happened in San Antonio that had everyone talking, especially Lytle’s police chief. A patrol car belonging to the San Antonio Police Department was stolen during a traffic stop, and the incident felt personal for the chief.
The theft occurred around 4 a.m. when officers pulled over a car on Palo Alto Road, close to Interstate 35. In a surprising turn of events, two men inside the stopped vehicle jumped out and ran away, leaving the officers scrambling to catch them.
Despite the officers’ efforts to chase the suspects, they lost sight of them. However, the two men managed to return to the police car, hopped in, and drove off. This led to a multi-agency pursuit, including assistance from the Lytle Police Department.
The stolen patrol car was eventually found nearly 20 miles away in Lytle, specifically in the 18000 block of Live Oak Street. Authorities apprehended one of the suspects, identified as 21-year-old Michael Aguirre. Unfortunately, the second suspect managed to escape.
Lytle Police Chief Richard Priest noted that Aguirre is someone his department has dealt with multiple times before. He expressed his surprise at the theft, remarking that while he always feared it could happen, it was still a shock.
“I’m kind of old-style and not that coordinated, so I’ll sometimes jump out and leave my car running,” Priest shared, reflecting on the incident. Watching the chase footage later, he admitted to being confused at first, thinking the police were pursuing a different vehicle.
Residents of Lytle were taken aback by the excitement of the chase. Ira Collins, a local, described waking up to the sounds of police sirens and seeing multiple police cars in the area. “There were about ten police cars, lights going everywhere, and they were shining down in the field behind our neighbors,” he recounted. “There was a drone flying over our field.”
Although the middle-of-the-night commotion left Collins and his wife unable to sleep, knowing that at least one suspect was in custody provided them with some peace of mind.
