SAN ANTONIO — Videos on an Instagram account helped San Antonio police identify and arrest a 17-year-old boy connected to the thefts of several Kia and Hyundai vehicles, in a time when viral trends have spotlighted just how easy it is to steal recent models from both car companies.
According to arrest records, a detective with the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) followed up on a tip centered around a livestream that showed three teens "bragging (about) how they evaded the police" on an Instagram page "which has recorded videos of stealing Kia vehicles using iPhone charger."
SAPD executed a search warrant on the account, records state, and found footage of cars with broken windows as well as video of the suspect, Nathaniel Ray Moreno, "recording himself entering the stolen vehicle" and managing to turn it on without a key.
"The defendant is then seen on the video recording livestreaming with another individual who was looking for a vehicle to steal," the arrest affidavit states. "The video recording is of excellent quality and you can clearly see the defendant."
The vehicle in question, its license plate also identifiable in the Instagram page's footage, was stolen on the morning of May 18. A video on the page apparently showing Nathaniel in that car, valued at about $18,700, was uploaded that very night.
The details of the case are in line with the so-called "Kia boyz" trend police across the country have warned car owners about, specifically those who drive Kia or Hyundai models made between 2015 and 2019. It's gotten so pervasive that insurance companies have stopped issuing policies for the most popular models, and in Houston the "Kia Boyz" trend has resulted in a massive spike in thefts.
Nathaniel had been arrested multiple times for alleged vehicle theft crimes already this year, online court records indicate. He has a court date of August 30 set for at least one of those cases.
Police say Nathaniel has been connected to at least six other stolen-vehicle cases in San Antonio, all of them involving Kias or Hyundais.
>MORE LOCAL NEWS:
>TRENDING ON KENS 5 YOUTUBE: