Guadalupe County deputies arrested Paz Ortiz for allegedly stealing $330,000 worth of breakers from homes in an organized crime ring.
GUADALUPE COUNTY, Texas — Deputies in Guadalupe County are investigating after hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of breakers from electical panels were stolen from houses throughout the county.
Over the last several months, the GCSO Criminal Investigations Bureau were looking into situations where two suspects were trespassing on people’s property and removing the breakers, causing extensive damage to the homes.
The organized crime ring resulted in over 2,000 thefts with a combined value of $330,000 in total losses to those properties, officials said.
Two suspects were identified and one has been arrested. Paz Ortiz is charged with three counts of theft of property $30K < $150K and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, officials said. Ortiz is on a immigration hold due to his alleged illegal status. The other suspect was identified, but was not arrested before he left the United States, officials said. Both suspects were Honduran citizens.