Brazen burglars: Northwest-side neighborhood targeted by two groups of thieves on the same night

SAN ANTONIO — Surveillance video is shining light on a prevalent problem.

Alfonso Smith lives just south of Loop 1604 on Copper Cave.

His cameras captured footage of two porch pirates using a U-Haul to steal packages on Feb. 2.

Three weeks later, the northwest-side neighborhood was targeted again. This time, by car burglars. 

Video shows a car pulling up at about 3 a.m. on Feb. 19. Two people dressed in dark clothing can be seen getting out and swiftly attempting to burglarize vehicles on driveways. Just two hours later, a different car pulls up. This time, at least three people are seen trying to open vehicle doors.

“In one morning,” Smith said in disbelief. “I’m like, ‘Dang, this is crazy!’ It makes me want to stay up like in my military days and stand watch; walk the streets or something.”

Smith says he is doing everything right. He locks his doors and has invested in cameras, floodlights and a speaker system.

“They don’t care,” said Smith. “They just want to get what they want to get.”

According to San Antonio Police Sergeant Nicholas Soliz, burglars are often searching for firearms, phones and cash.

“We are always catching burglars,” said Sgt. Soliz. “We always ask people to call the police no matter what. We can get fingerprints [from the vehicles]. If they are prior offenders, that will link that fingerprint to that burglary.”

Data from the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) shows police respond to about 2,000 car burglaries each month. However, that number is underreported because victims don’t always call police.

Sgt. Soliz says burglars are now arming themselves. He says no property is worth a life.

“All our San Antonio police officers are proactive when they can be,” said Sgt. Soliz. “They are out there looking for car burglars and stolen vehicles. If you want extra attention on your neighborhood, you can always call your local substation and ask for overnight patrols whenever district officers and SAFFE officers are available. 100 times out of 100, we are setting that up. Those sheets are given to officers at roll call and they go when they can to show presence in that area.”

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