Caught driving stolen ATV
Victor Cruz
A suspect in a rash of robberies plaguing the city of Pearsall was taken into custody last week after he was caught joyriding in a stolen Polaris all-terrain vehicle, according to Frio County sheriff’s deputies.
A report on the case shows that deputies questioned 30-year-old Victor Cruz after surveillance footage showed the man in possession of the Polaris ATV and a Miller Bobcat welder.
At the time officers questioned the man, however, the equipment had not been reported stolen.
Twenty minutes later, Cruz was seen driving the ATV through west-side residential neighborhoods.
A further investigation into the equipment revealed the welder and ATV, which were being used at a solar panel job site northwest of Pearsall, had been taken without owner permission.
Cruz was arrested on January 13 for theft, a state jail felony, and transported to the Frio County Jail without further incident. Records filed at the jail show Cruz was wanted on a felony warrant for human smuggling.
Law enforcement has indicated that Cruz is a suspect in a rash of business burglaries throughout the city that include a lumber yard, a chemicals warehouse, an agricultural farm equipment store, and a drive-through convenience store.
