Feb. 13, 2023 After a rash of thefts at a new home site, the builder worked with San Antonio police to place tracking devices on valuable items, which led officers to a stolen U-Haul truck in a motel parking lot.
By Marc Duvoisin Source San Antonio Express-News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Two men have been arrested and charged with stealing cabinets, doors, kitchen appliances and other items from a home construction site on the Southwest Side.
San Antonio police said that after a rash of thefts at the site near Southwest Loop 410 and Old Pearsall Road, the builder worked with SAPD to place tracking devices on valuable items.
After a fresh round of looting, SAPD’s South Property Crimes Unit tracked one of the stolen items to the parking lot of a motel in the 3800 block of Southwest Military Drive at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
The tracking signal led officers to a U-Haul truck, said Nick Soliz, an SAPD spokesman. A check of the license plates revealed that it had been reported stolen, Soliz said.
Officers saw a man get out of the U-Haul and go into a room in the motel. Police knocked on the door, and Ernest Morales, 41, answered, according to Soliz. A gun was “hanging out of his pocket,” Soliz said.
Morales admitted to stealing materials from the construction site, Soliz said.
Morales and Eddie Alvarez, 38, who was arrested later the same morning, are both charged with property theft and theft of a vehicle. Morales also was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Police found cabinet sets, doors and other materials in the U-Haul. The items were returned to the builder, and the truck was returned to U-Haul, Soliz said.