SAN ANTONIO — A crime spree came to an end Tuesday afternoon when several agencies assisted in the arrest of 26-year-old Robert Escamilla, Jr.
According to Sheriff Soward with the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office, the incident began Monday night when deputies responded to a burglary in the 400 block of Rutledge Road.
Witnesses gave deputies the name of the suspect, who took off before the deputies arrived.
According to Sheriff Soward, the following morning, officers with Poteet Police Department attempted to stop a 2019 white Dodge Ram pickup, which was later determined to be stolen from Pleasanton.
Officers who were pursuing the truck lost sight of it, but the vehicle was later spotted by deputies on FM 1470.
Deputy Sheriff J.D. Ruiz pursued the truck to Price Road where it ran into a fence and the driver, later determined to be Escamilla, took off on foot.
Sheriff Soward stated that deputies chased after Escamilla, who they recognized as the burglary suspect from the evening before, but he was able to escape.
Later Tuesday morning, a rancher north of Poteet reported that he'd seen his neighbor's John Deere tractor on his property. The neighbor told police that when he approached the tractor, a man got out and pointed a semiautomatic rifle at him. The man with the rifle was later determined to be Escamilla, per Sheriff Soward.
The tractor was determined to be stolen from the neighbor's property.
Atascosa County sheriff's deputies, county constables, and DPS officers from Atascosa County and Bexar County responded to the scene. Additionally, aircraft assistance was also requested from the DPS agency in San Antonio.
Despite trying to escape on foot and hiding in a hay barn, Sheriff Soward said that law enforcement officers were able to contain Escamilla and ultimately, talk him into surrendering.
Sheriff Soward said that while Escamilla denied having a rifle, several officers searched the surrounding property and found the rifle hidden in a tree.
The rifle was later determined to have been stolen out of a pickup truck from a nearby farm.
Escamilla has been charged with the following: evading arrest with a motor vehicle; burglary of a habitation; theft over $30,000; theft of a firearm; burglary of a vehicle; criminal mischief to a fence; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was also booked on two warrants from Poteet Police for evading arrest and deadly conduct.
Pleasanton Police will be filing charges regarding the theft of the 2019 Ram truck.
