AUSTIN COUNTY LOOKING FOR TRUCK THIEVES

  

The Austin County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a group of men that managed to elude custody.

During the early morning hours on Friday, Sheriff’s Deputies encountered 4-5 armed Hispanic men in two trucks near the 2200 block of Tiemann Rd.

According to a press release, it is believed the men were possibly attempting to steal a truck that previously had the keys stolen from the inside.

A pursuit ensued and one of the two trucks crashed on New Bremen Road. The occupants of that vehicle were picked up by the other fleeing vehicle and were able to elude the pursuing deputies.

At one point, deputies attempted to deploy spike strips, but the fleeing vehicle narrowly missed ramming a deputy’s vehicle thus causing the spikes to deploy incorrectly.

Both the crashed truck and the one that got away were confirmed stolen out of Washington County.

Officers from the Police Departments in Bellville and Sealy assisted with trying to locate these individuals.

The Sheriff’s Office said that this appears to be the same pattern they have seen where criminals target trucks in rural areas of the county that have the keys left inside the vehicle.

The Austin County Sheriff’s Office has increased their patrol presence by assigning extra deputies in the area due to the recent vehicle burglaries and thefts.

They remind residents to take keys and all valuables out of your vehicles at night.

Residents also are asked to call 911 if any unusual activity is seen and to be aware these are possibly armed individuals.