LYTLE, Texas — Bicycle bandits on a crime spree in the small community of Lytle.
Early Thursday morning, Lytle Police said two suspects burglarized at least six vehicles, and then stole two vehicles from the same house.
The suspects got away, police said, after a high-speed chase.
Dash cam video from Lytle Police shows the moment an officer quickly picks up the trail of the two suspected car thieves off I-35 around 3:45 a.m. Thursday morning.
According to police, before they got away with the stolen vehicles, the suspects were riding bicycles through the community, hitting at least two subdivisions a few miles apart.
Police believe the suspects ditched their bikes in the Granberg Subdivision off Benton City Road, and rode off in a Dodge Truck and Chevy Suburban.
A Lytle PD officer was nearby, investigators said, and quickly tried to pull them over, but the two suspects, each driving a stolen vehicle, didn’t stop.
With the officer in hot pursuit, the suspects reached speeds of over 100 mph, trying to get away.
Police said the suspect driving the suburban fled down I-35 northbound towards San Antonio, while the other suspect driving the truck got off on the frontage road and continued driving at a high speed.
The officer pursued the truck until the driver lost control, crashed into a parked truck, and then slammed into a utility pole before a fence slowed down the truck.
When the officer pulled up to the crash scene, his dash cam video shows the downed power line, as the suspect climbed out of the truck, scaled the fence, and ran away into the brush.
Both suspected car crooks got away, as the list of charges multiplied.
According to Lytle police, a few hours before allegedly stealing the vehicles, neighbors reported two men riding bikes and burglarizing vehicles in the Lake Shore Estates Subdivision.
Surveillance video shows one suspect walk into the open garage with a flashlight and gun, and then he starts rifling through the vehicles.
Police said the brazen suspect was wearing what they believe to wearing gray sweatpants, a black satchel over his shoulder, and wearing sports gloves with a Nike symbol.
The suspected crook walked away empty-handed in this garage, but police said the gun he was carrying had just been stolen from another vehicle.
According to officers, the stolen truck is a total loss. The victim said the Suburban was recovered, and had been left abandoned miles away near downtown San Antonio.
Police said the two suspects are facing multiple charges.
Investigators are hoping someone will recognize the suspect seen in the video and will turn them in.
If you have any information to share with Lytle Police, you can send a tip via email at lytlepolice@lytletx.org or by calling 830-709-0277.
Tips can remain anonymous.