Garland Police swiftly arrested three defendants and charged them with theft of approximately $10,000 worth of copper cable. The Garland Police Department took to Facebook last Friday to recount the chase and subsequent arrests, depicting a chain of events that began with a heist in broad daylight and escalated into a car pursuit that ended in capture.
The incident began last Wednesday, when a caller reported suspicious activity near Belt Line Road and Wagon Wheel. The defendants, who were reportedly blocking a lane with their U-Haul, were apprehended after attempting to flee, with two being apprehended immediately and the third being arrested the next day after temporarily evading capture. Although the U-Haul’s attempt to evade cops resulted in a pursuit, it was short-lived.
Izely Guadalupe Guerrero Rodriguez, 27, was apprehended behind the wheel by Garland officers, launching what would be a failed attempt to evade prosecution. Law enforcement agents arrested Jerome Wayne Perkins, 41, in the mundane confines of a local convenience store after the incident, and apprehended Richard Wayne Schultz, 37, in Dallas on Thursday. The suspects used a saw to cut the copper line from a utility pole, and the getaway vehicle later contained the copper line.
Following these arrests, authorities discovered further criminal activity, cocaine, and a handgun among Guerrero and Perkins. The Garland Detention Center is currently holding all three individuals as they await judicial proceedings. Guerrero is charged with fleeing arrest with a vehicle and possessing fentanyl, while Perkins, who was captured in possession of an illicit substance with methamphetamine and unlawfully carrying a handgun as a felon, must answer a litany of indictments. The publicity surrounding their incident exacerbates Schultz’s allegations of avoiding arrest and stealing.
