Bay City police responded to the second auto theft incident within a two-week period when officer Luis Moreno, was sent to 2300 7th Street in reference to a stolen vehicle at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 8.
When Moreno arrived, he talked to the victim, who told him he went inside the store and left his daughter’s Blue 2016 Mazda CX-3 running with the keys in the ignition and door unlocked.
When the man got out of the store, the vehicle was missing, along with his phone and wallet.
Moreno looked at surveillance video and identified the suspect as Luis Nunez, 19, of Bay City.
While Moreno was looking at the video, dispatch was contacting the owner of the Mazda and the dealership, to get a VIN number and GPS location.
Within 20 minutes, they were able to locate the vehicle in the area of the AT&T store.
Corporal Jordan Siegel and Moreno arrived on scene where a traffic stop was attempted on the stolen vehicle.
The vehicle did not stop and began traveling Westbound on 7th Street.
The vehicle traveled at or below the posted speed limit throughout the pursuit.
After turning Northbound onto Nichols and then onto Skelly Road, the vehicle attempted to turn in the driveway of a grass farm.
The vehicle missed the driveway and went into the ditch, ending the pursuit.
The driver was taken into custody, without incident.
Luis Nunez was booked in the Matagorda County Jail for evading in a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
The Bay City Police Department noted this incident ended without injury to the public, officers involved, and suspect.
This is the second incident of a stolen vehicle happening within the last two weeks where the victim left their car unattended while running, both ended with damage to the vehicles.
An extra three seconds in turning off the car and locking the door will save the hassle in the long run, police said.
