Chief Priest’s Weekly Update


If you’re interested in what we have been up to this past week here is the inside scoop. Our officers responded to 37 calls for service and issued 54 traffic citations (25 of those were for speeding).

Monday was the “big day” for arrests; would you believe we booked 5 people into the Atascosa Co. Jail? Three of them were from a shoplifting arrest at H.E.B. Plus. They got off with about $700 worth of meat but Officer Guzman located their fleeing vehicle and was able to ruin their dreams of a never ending BBQ.  The other two arrests that were made involved cases we had been investigating and had obtained arrest warrants. Two suspects turned themselves in, one was an assault causing bodily injury and the other was a criminal trespass. I guess Monday is a good day to turn yourself in so you can extend your weekend.  We had another arrest later in the week on a motorist that had a DWI warrant out of Bexar Co. and a woman in another traffic stop was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Reported property crimes included a vehicle being “keyed” and a tire “slashed” on N. Benton St. and a complainant reported he left his phone in the shopping cart at HEB and when he returned it was gone.  Most likely it was taken by someone who plays by the “Finders keepers, losers weepers” rule.  A better rule to follow would be “Do to others as you would have them do to you”.

Reported financial crimes included a report on the passing of some forged checks, a credit card being used without consent and an online scam that resulted in a $2,700 loss.

Be sure and stop by the Lytle Public Library on Saturday Nov. 4.  The annual living history fair will be taking place between 10 AM and 4 PM.  This is definitely an event worth your time.  It gets bigger and bigger each year and there is a good mix of displays and reenactors.  Expect to see the smoke and hear the rumble from a civil war cannon. There will be items for sale including some really good “eats”.  There is no charge for admission or parking, this is a very family friendly event.

I’m dedicating this week’s update in memory of my longtime friend and neighbor Ernie Kroeger. To me, Ernie was like a best friend, brother, uncle and dad all rolled into one.  Tragically, he passed away last week from a heart attack while working on a fence at the Lytle animal shelter. He was an awesome son, brother, husband, father and grandfather. He was a Vietnam veteran, a retired SAPD Detective and a retired member of the Lytle VFD.  He was active in the Lytle VFW and served our city as a very active volunteer in both the Citizens’ Patrol and at the animal shelter where his wife serves as the director.  I lived a couple houses down the street from him for the last 27 years; we spent a lot of time together and made many “road trips.” He helped me so much, I will really miss him.  He was a lot better man than me. He thought before he spoke, didn’t have a temper and never said a bad word about anybody.  I guess that’s why we got along, opposites attract.

I have been out of town the past two weeks on a road trip with the family that included me attending the International Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference in Philadelphia.   We had a great time and saw a lot of the country; I’ll save the details for later. I will tell you that I was somewhat disappointed that I finally made it to Cincinnati and couldn’t get WKRP tuned in on my radio.

-Richey

Richey Priest is the Chief of the Lytle Police Department.

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