Val Verde County, Texas

From the Del Rio News-Herald of January 6, 2006

Frontera burglary foiled

Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office deputies and a U.S. Border Patrol agent have arrested a man and a boy after the two were found burglarizing a residence near the Mexico border.

In custody are a 15-year-old male juvenile who told officers he lived in Ciudad Acuña, Coah., Mexico, and Mario Leyva, 35, who said he lived in San Jose, Coah., Mexico, according to Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Terry Simons.

“They had both crossed the river into the United States to steal that night,” Simons said Thursday in an interview about the incident.

Simons said the sheriff’s office received a call alerting deputies to a “burglary in progress” at a residence in the 2800 block of Frontera Road, on the east side of the Del Rio Port of Entry, about 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

“Deputies Chris Coplan, David Garcia and Deputy Ramiro Reyes, who had just gotten off duty and was on his way home, all responded to the call,” Simons said.

“When the deputies arrived, they learned that the homeowner had returned home, found his front door ajar, had gone inside and confronted two burglars in his residence,” Simons added.

The homeowner, Jose Martinez, grabbed a .22-caliber rifle just inside the front door of the residence and was holding the burglars at bay when the deputies arrived, Simons said.

Leyva gave up immediately, but the 15-year-old boy, wearing a leather jacket he had taken from one of Martinez’s closets, fled out a window, Simons said.

The chief deputy said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Josh Barrett, who responded to the Frontera Road address to assist the deputies with the call, arrived at the residence and told the deputies he had just seen a person matching the description of the juvenile walking west toward the port of entry.

“Deputy Garcia and Agent Barrett went to the bridge, saw the subject walking toward Mexico and were able to apprehend him before he exited the United States,” Simons said.

Simons said Leyva has been charged with burglary of a habitation. Simons said Leyva remains in custody, adding that the Border Patrol also plans to prosecute him for illegally entering the United States.

Simons said the juvenile also will be prosecuted for his role in the break-in and is currently being held in juvenile detention.

“This is the way it’s supposed to work, officers at the field level talking to each other and working together for the benefit of the citizens,” Simons said.

He said the Border Patrol agent and the deputies recovered about $1,000 worth of property, including tools, four custom vehicle wheels and a leather jacket.