Erik Fernandez is accused of robbing multiple people at gunpoint. Police say he was part of a crew that committed more than 50 robberies.
SAN ANTONIO — Erik Fernandez turned 17 years old on August 13. On that same day, according to arrest records, he robbed three people with a gun.
Authorities allege he also robbed two more people on August 21.
The dates are important, because they mean Fernandez will be facing these accusations as an adult. Police said Wednesday Fernandez is suspected of having committed, in all, around 28 crimes. He was arrested on Tuesday.
“Those are 28 or 30 people that have been victimized by him alone,” said Ben Drew, a detective with the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD). “Some of those might be multiple victims at a single robbery.”
Drew said Fernandez was part of a crew of six to eight people that have committed similar crimes over the last three months in the Alamo City. The SAPD Robbery Task Force Unit had been working the case for at least that long, spending countless hours trying to track those individuals down.
Drew said most of the crew was under 17, which means they could be charged as juveniles if arrested. That means SAPD can’t release the kind of information they normally would.
The crew is suspected of being responsible for more than 50 different robberies across the city, some of which had multiple victims. Fortunately, Drew said, SAPD has now arrested all of the suspected individuals after taking Fernandez into custody this week.
He said they tied the crimes together through a standout detail: The crew would always target working individuals in the early-morning hours.
“The common method was to target people early in the morning between 5 and 7 a.m.,” the detective said. “People like contractors, restaurant workers and landscapers who were up early and getting themselves ready, having breakfast. There were workers waiting for their morning ride to work. They were driven up on, had guns put in their face, and had their phones, wallets, jewelry taken.”
KENS 5 found many of those robberies unfolded near South Zarzamora Street, but SAPD said the crew also committed crimes on the south side and around the north part of Loop 410. They said some people were robbed in their vehicles or even at their places of work.
Drew said SAPD reviewed camera footage and followed leads on stolen vehicles to track the suspected robbers down. He also said Fernandez continued to rob people after other individuals in the crew had been arrested.
He said it’s a relief to finally have the whole suspected crew arrested.
“Our pleasure comes from being able to work with the victims, being able to let them know, ‘Hey, this person who has victimized your, injured you, shot you, left you traumatized is now locked up.’ That’s where most of our gratification comes from: knowing that we have done a good job for the people we work for and we were able to lock that person up,” Drew said. “The hardworking everyday people that are up early in the morning are safer because he and his co-actors have been arrested.”
Drew also said SAPD was able to succeed in the investigation because the victims in many of the cases worked with them to address the crimes.
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