SAN ANTONIO — Cody Flores leaves his car doors unlocked because of vehicle burglaries.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Flores said his neighborhood has seen 20 burglaries in the last few months and he's been hit multiple times himself. After thieves broke the windows on both his truck and car, he started leaving them unlocked while taking all items inside, in an effort to try and avoid more repair bills.
"It's kind of violating... it's quite expensive to fix," Flores said. "I shouldn't have to think, 'Hey, should I unlock my car?,' just as a cost analysis thing."
Police are catching the offenders, but KENS 5 has now learned it can take years for those suspects to go to trial. In the meantime, they're out in the community, where they end up committing even more crimes.
Other homeowners have had their trucks broken into multiple times at The Rim and other businesses locations. Jason Straughan had his Tesla broken into outside a bank in broad daylight.
The Tesla's cameras caught the whole thing.
"I was just surprised. I couldn't believe it." Straughan said. "It looked like they had it pretty well planned... the police said it's been happening a lot around here."
Perhaps the most troubling thing San Antonians are learning about vehicle burglars is what happens after they get caught.
Arrested, released, repeat
One of the worst offenders KENS 5 came across is is Johnny Angel Alonzo, who was caught targeting several vehicles all the way back in April of 2020. He was caught and put on home arrest with an ankle monitor, but court documents show he likely removed his monitor and left his home.
Police know he left in late April because he burglarized yet another vehicle and was arrested again.
Alonzo also burglarized four vehicles in Guadalupe County in July of 2020, and was found guilty of those crimes a month later. He was sentenced to 75 days in jail, but it's unclear how much time he served.
When Alonzo was finally tried in Bexar County in November of 2022, he was facing an enhanced "evading arrest with vehicle" charge, amounting to a third-degree felony and a potential two-year prison sentence.
But Alonzo did not serve time in prison. Instead, Bexar County gave him a plea deal with only four years of probation.
District Attorney Joe Gonzales defended the decision last month, saying the majority of Alonzo's burglary victims indicated they did not want to press charges. He said the offenses in Guadalupe County happened after the deal was made, and weren't eligible to be part of it.
Court records state Alonzo was sentenced in Guadalupe County in August, and that he wasn't re-arrested in Bexar County for his local crimes until November. Regardless, Gonzales said he was happy with the probation deal.
Alonzo was violating his probation as soon as January of the next year, but Bexar County never arrested him for those violations. He faced no consequences for all of 2021.
Gonzales could not tell KENS 5 why Alonzo was not arrested during that time.
"You are going to have to ask law enforcement and the courts because we don't control when a person is arrested," Gonzales said.
'I'm not happy it took this long'
Alonzo was arrested in February of 2022, but only because he broke into another vehicle. In fact, he broke into three vehicles in February of 2022 and stole a car in April of 2022.
After spending time in jail, he got out on bond and broke into two more vehicles in September and October of 2022. Alonzo was again out on bond in December of 2022; this time, he was caught illegally possessing a hand gun.
Alonzo was finally tried in court in January of 2023, and was eventually sentenced to five years in prison.
KENS 5 asked DA Gonzales why it took until 2023 for for Alonzo to be taken to court and sentenced. Gonzales blamed the issue on a logjam of cases in the court system initially caused by COVID.
"I'm not happy that it took this long, but, again, you have to put this into context," he said. "You have to remember for a year and a half we were shut down by COVID. We were not going to trial."
Of course, Alonzo was not the only suspect that waited this long to be sentenced.
Edgar Garcia was arrested in January of 2021, accused of nine burglaries. But it wasn't until March of 2023, more than two years later, that he went to court for those crimes.
While out on bond in 2022, he was arrested for two instances of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
"I'm not happy about the fact that we had delays, but the reality is those are delays that we have been experiencing both because of COVID and because of the backlogs that we find ourselves in, in this county."
KENS 5 asked Gonzales if he was concerned individuals are committing additional crimes in the community while they wait to be tried for previous offenses.
"Of course there is an issue there," Gonzales said.
Asked subsequently if there was a solution to that issue, the district attorney conceded to the various machinations and players who navigate the complex legal system.
"We can do what we've been doing all along in this office, and that's prosecute these crimes the way they need to be prosecuted," he said. "We've done that, but you have to understand that we are only one part of the system."
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