Police apprehend wastewater treatment thieves following chase

 I’m late with this story, which actually occurred on Saturday, because it has taken me a while to track down various details and examine apparent geographical issues. But the short version of this story is police foiled an attempt Saturday by two men to steal more than $26,000 worth of equipment from Kyle’s wastewater treatment plant expansion construction site.

Now for the long version: 

According to an announcement from the city Wednesday, “on Saturday at 5:43 p.m., Kyle Police Department officers were dispatched to the 400 block of Heidenreich Lane for a burglary in progress at the City of Kyle Wastewater Treatment construction site.”

OK, so the 400 block of Heidenreich Lane is approximately 1.2 miles from the where construction is currently underway to expand the city’s wastewater treatment plant, but there is a road that leads from the southwest corner of the plant out to Heidenreich, so there’s that.

“Officers arrived on scene and observed a black Chevrolet Avalanche on site,” the city’s statement said, without specifically stating exactly what that “site” was. But, if it was around 400 Heidenreich, that’s on the corner FM 150, which, again, is more than a mile from the wastewater treatment plant. “When officers attempted to make contact with the occupants, the vehicle fled. A pursuit ensued through the construction area into the Waterleaf subdivision and Cool Springs, and eventually onto northbound Interstate 35.”

So I guess what happened is the folks in the Avalanche turned around, and tried to escape by driving back northeast on Heidenreich, took that left that leads back into the wastewater treatment plant, exited the plant into Waterleaf on New Bridge Lane, eventually made it back to FM 150 and headed north to I-35, then exited the interstate at the very next opportunity. But, again, that’s a guess.

“The vehicle exited I-35 at the 215 mile marker and crashed into a light pole on I-35 west access at Kyle Parkway,” according to the city’s statement. “The two occupants in the vehicle then fled on foot.”

The infamous Spectra Rotating Laser

They didn’t get very far. One of the would-be thieves was arrested in the drive-through lane at the Wendy’s right at the corner of I-35 and Kyle Parkway and his cohort was nabbed in the adjacent Walmart parking lot. Police found the loot in the abandoned Avalanche. The would-be thieves were identified as Jose Alberto Celestino-Fierro, 32, and Juan Garcia, 44, and, following a quick medical checkup at Ascension Seton Hays, just across Kyle Parkway, they were booked in Hays County Jail on charges of theft of property valued between $2,500 and $30,000, evading in a motor vehicle, evading arrest and criminal trespass.

The inventory of what they actually took amounted to $26,200, the city said today, and included a saw valued at $7,500, a compactor worth $5,500, a generator worth $3,500, and something called a “Spectra Rotating Laser,” which, according to some research I conducted is used for leveling, and has a price tag of $2,500. The haul also included a couple of $100 weed eaters and a $250 drill.

“We may never know what the intent was for this particular theft but we do know that construction sites are often targeted for equipment like the items stolen from the Wastewater Treatment plant site,” a city spokesperson said today. “What I can confirm is that those arrested were not former employees.”