Traffic intercepts help officers recover stolen vehicles

By Manuel Azocar III - Sports Writer/Managing Editor | June 11, 2025

Teen suspect agrees he “randomly appeared in the car all of a sudden”

High-speed chase ends after tire spiking

Jaime Anzaldua

Frio County deputies engaged in a high-speed pursuit and later took a 16-year old driver into custody as they recovered three stolen vehicles over the course of a four-day span last week.
Deputies were informed in all three cases that stolen vehicles had been spotted on IH-35 heading south into Frio County.
A case report shows that in an incident on Thursday evening, June 5, local law enforcement spotted a 2020 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck near Milemarker 111, and after confirming the vehicle was stolen, attempted to effect a traffic stop. The driver failed to yield and cut across the grassy median at a high rate of speed and was then observed traveling south on the west-side access road at a recorded 118 miles per hour. The vehicle then cut across the grassy median again, and returned to IH-35, heading south at speeds in excess of 100 mph, according to the report.

Officers assisting from the Pearsall Police Department deployed a tire deflation device into the vehicle’s path at Milemarker 101, a measure that brought the vehicle to a stop two miles further along the road.
The driver, later identified as Xavier Ramos, 17, of Laredo, reportedly left the vehicle and put his hands in the air. He faces charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest or detention with a vehicle.
The officers’ report indicates apparent damage to the truck’s driver-side window, a common feature among stolen vehicles, and investigators have noted the damage is indicative of someone having broken the window to gain access to the vehicle. Interior damage included a vent to the vehicle’s air conditioning being removed; and the rearview mirror had also been removed, which exposed the wires connected to it. Deputies noted that the truck’s key was uncut, which they have said is an indicator that it was not the original key to the truck.
A second incident on Saturday, June 7, at approximately 4 a.m. saw deputies being alerted to a 2019 Hyundai Elantra that the US Border Patrol had reported as a stolen vehicle traveling southbound on IH-35 near Milemarker 130.
Officers began following a vehicle matching the Hyundai’s description near the Milemarker 104 and effected a traffic stop after confirming that it was a stolen vehicle.

Xavier Ramos

According to the case report, deputies identified a 16-year-old behind the wheel of the car. The driver denied knowledge of the vehicle being stolen and said he was traveling to Laredo to cross into Mexico to spend time with family. The youth refused to tell law enforcement where he had obtained the car, eventually agreeing with officers when they asked if he “randomly appeared in the car all of a sudden.”
The driver faces a charge of unauthorized used of a motor vehicle and his custody was transferred to San Patricio County.
A third incident on Sunday, June 8, involved a stolen Toyota Camry. Deputies were tipped off at 7:46 p.m. that the stolen vehicle was traveling south on IH-35 near Milemarker 118.
Officers identified a vehicle matching the description at Milemarker 106 and confirmed that it had been stolen in San Antonio.
According to a report, officers followed the vehicle when it left the highway at Milemarker 104 and continued to the intersection of the west-side access road and south Business IH-35. The driver activated his turn signal but hesitated to make the turn onto the interstate’s business loop, and deputies said they continued to follow the vehicle onto Business IH-35 as other Frio County units converged on the location.
Law enforcement enacted a traffic stop near County Road 2013 and took the driver, Jaime Anzaldua Jr., 50, of San Antonio into custody without further incident.
According to officers handling the case, Anzaldua said the vehicle was not his and that he was taking it to Laredo for his nephew. Deputies informed the man that he had been stopped because the vehicle was listed as stolen. Anzaldua reportedly claimed that he did not know it was stolen and said he had been given given the keys to the car.
Upon further questioning, Anzaldua said that he had been offered payment of $400 for taking the vehicle to Laredo, adding that he wasn’t going to lie and that he thought that he was “only doing a friend a favor,” according to officers.
A criminal history check revealed that Anzaldua was listed as wanted in Comal County for a traffic offense. The suspect was taken into custody and faces a charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.