Three arrested in Buda beer thefts
Two beer thefts early Saturday at the Speedy Stop and Walmart in Buda may be related after three men were arrested, police say.
Around 2:20 a.m., police pulled over a black Chevrolet Trailblazer being driven without headlights, which matched the description of a vehicle used in two separate beer thefts that morning.
The officer brought the vehicle’s two passengers into Walmart, where employees identified them as running off with a pack of beer. Gerardo Arreguin, 18, and Paul Gonzales, 17, both from Buda, were charged with public intoxication and theft under $50. The driver, Cruz Garcia, 23, also of Buda, was charged with driving while intoxicated, Police Chief Bo Kidd said.
Earlier, at 1:35 a.m., police were called out to the Speedy Stop on Overpass Road, where the store clerk told police that he was punched twice in the face when two men tried to steal the three packs of beer, Kidd said.
The clerk sensed that the two men were trying to steal beer, which state law prohibits from sale after midnight, and blocked the exit. One of the men hit the clerk, which resulted in a bruised upper lip. Both men then dropped the beer and took off in a black Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by another male, Kidd says.
Although no weapons were used, police are labeling the Speedy Stop incident as an attempted robbery. When questioned, all three men denied any involvement. Kidd said that the incident is still under investigation and new charges could be filed.
Buda business targeted again
Thieves ransacked A-Line Outdoor Power Equipment in Buda for the second time in about a month, police say.
On Sunday afternoon, police were dispatched to the business on the 100 block of Tori Drive, where thieves busted down the front door and stole several items from the store, Police Chief Bo Kidd said.
Kidd said his department is working a lead and tying the case to a similar theft around a month before. This time around, thieves took 10 chainsaws, four weed-eater trimmers, two leaf blowers and two pole pruners, he said.
