“A San Antonio man is not expected to face charges after his [truck] was stolen and a confrontation with the suspected thief ended in fatal gunfire on Wednesday, March 29, police said.” That’s the report from mysa.com. The owner of the truck managed to track down the truck and the suspected thief with the use of an Apple AirTag.
The man’s vehicle was stolen from his Northside home on Wednesday afternoon, police said. But by using an Apple AirTag, he was able to track his truck down to a shopping center on the Southeast Side in the 3200 block of Southeast Military Drive.
The owner reported the theft to the police, but he got there first.
SAPD spokesperson Nick Soliz said the man called police to report his vehicle as stolen, but did not wait for police to arrive before attempting to confront the suspected car thief around 4 p.m.
The truck owner told police the two argued and he thought the suspected thief pulled a gun, which started “a firefight.” Police haven’t confirmed finding the suspected robber’s gun and say the truck owner was the only one to have fired a shot.
The suspected thief…was shot and pronounced dead, Soliz said. His identity has not been released. The car theft victim reportedly stayed at the scene of the shooting, complied with police, and was taken into custody for questioning. The shooter is not expected to face charges, Soliz said, but noted an investigation is ongoing.
This one could still go either way. Texas law states that force can be used to prevent “unlawful interference” with property. That’s a more lenient standard for the use of force that most states allow. Still, if the suspected thief didn’t have a gun, the local prosecutor could file charges against the owner.
Texans are famously protective of their vehicles, particularly pickup trucks. Still, that’s what insurance is for. Getting into an armed confrontation with a possibly armed car thief is a risk that’s probably not worth taking.
