Chief Priest Report – Lytle



 

It’s spring break and kids and adults look forward to it all year.

Here at the Lytle P.D., we look forward to it because we get a break from all the school traffic and a teaser of what summer brings. Last week, the Lytle PD officers managed 64 calls for service and conducted 86 traffic stops. Of those stops, 78 resulted in citations and eight in warnings.

Officers took two reports of property crimes: #1 – A 3rd Street resident reported that they suspect a FedEx package of screws was taken by a “porch pirate.” Some lucky crook got a box of screws, I bet they were hoping for an iPhone. #2 – A lady was shopping at H-E-B and another female took her wallet and phone from her basket! The crook fled into the parking lot and left in a vehicle with different front and back license plates.

Officers made three arrests last week: #1 – A traffic stop on Railroad Street resulted in a female being arrested for DWI with a child. She was booked into the Atascosa County Jail. #2 – A traffic stop on FM 2790 for speeding resulted in the driver’s arrest for DWI. He was booked into the Atascosa County Jail. #3 – A traffic stop on Main Street resulted in the arrest of a male for an active warrant out of Bexar County for violation of a protective order. He was booked into the Atascosa County Jail.

Another fire! On Wednesday evening around 6 p.m., officers responded to a fire at Lynda’s Island (AKA Lynda’s Trade Mart). The building had about 10 apartments and one of them was the source of a fire that destroyed the interior. Some of the other units had smoke and water damage. It could have been much worse. The Lytle Volunteer Fire Department responded quickly, followed up by our friends from Natalia VFD, Atascosa County E.M.S., and Bexar Co. E.S.D. #5. I saw someone from Devine Fire Rescue as well. The firefighters did a fantastic job and property loss was limited to primarily one small apartment. Again, Lytle Public Works assisted as well as the Red Cross because there were 15 people displaced. Our Mayor, Ruben Gonzalez, was also on the scene (and was at the big fire last week too) and helped coordinate assistance for the residents. The fire was not suspicious and the cause is currently classified as undetermined.

We had two “bailouts” last week. Devine PD chased one into town and Texas D.P.S. chased the other. In all, about 13 of 20 suspected undocumented immigrants were detained. Medina County Sheriff’s Office assisted with both events. There was also another pursuit, led by MCSO that exited the interstate and went down Naegelin Road. I’m glad there are a lot of young officers who can jump out and continue the chase on foot, I’m better suited to set up a command post or maybe get drinks. Is somebody “down Mexico way” handing out maps with Lytle circled and written next to it “Good place to bailout?” I guess it would be written in Spanish though.

Special thanks to the youth group from Trinity Baptist Church here in Lytle. On Sunday, they cooked burgers for first responders, dropped some off at the police station, and then headed over to the fire station. I wasn’t around on Sunday evening but I did find one in the fridge on Monday morning and had it for breakfast, it was really good.

The boys’ basketball season has ended. They made it all the way to the state tournament! Our schools are turning out talent in all areas. I don’t know what they are doing up there but it appears to be working.

The Lytle Animal Control indoor yard sale was a success, I forgot about it and didn’t get to attend. It’s for the best, I get suckered into all those “for a good cause” events and would end up buying something I would never use, like exercise equipment.

RICHEY PRIEST is the Lytle Chief of Police. You may reach him at richard.priest@lytletx.org.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *