LEON SPRINGS, Texas — Two hunting buddies from Louisiana woke up Friday morning to a hotel parking lot of multiple vehicles broken-into and thousands of dollars worth of guns stolen.
The incident happened at the La Quinta hotel off I-10 near the Dominion.
“More than just about anything else, I hate a thief,” said Chad Abell.
“Me and Chad are both from ‘Ragin Cajun’ country, Lafayette, Louisiana,” said Ben Simms.
Chad Abell and Ben Simms made an overnight pit stop in San Antonio before continuing their journey to Junction for hunting. Simms noted all of the guns had been locked inside the vehicle.
Abell said at least five cars were targeted around 3:45 a.m.
The thieves had thrashed the inside of Abbel’s white pickup, leaving little behind. Broken glass, sun glasses and a hunting hat remained.
“According to the police, I think that this has happened couple times a month for the last several months at this particular hotel,” Abell said.
Simms said the suspect vehicle was a white BMW with a paper license plate accompanied by two masked individuals.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office provided data that reveals there’ve been more than 20 burglary of vehicle incidents since April 2021. At least 11 of the incidents happened in November.
Abbel and Simms lost more than $7,000 worth of guns, accessories and clothes.
“Two of the pistols that we’re missing were heir loom pistols that were kind of handed down through the family,” Abbel said.
“I had a hunting rifle, a 35 Whelen, which is a brand-new rifle that I bought specifically for this trip,” Simms said.
Simms and Abbel were referred by a local car dealership to Glass America to repair the broken-in window.
The two hunting buddies proceeded to stop by Dury’s Guns in San Antonio for some emergency purchases before hitting the road once again to Junction.
“You can’t get us down, we’re not going to let the bad guys win," Simms said.