New Braunfels Police Arrest Man for Burglarizing Local Storage Units

(New Braunfels, TX) -- A 49-year old man is in jail following his arrest on Sunday after witnesses called police to say they saw the man breaking into storage units at the M&M Storage location in the 200 block of Landa Street. Officers arrived to find the man loading items into the back of a large U-Haul truck, along with evidence that he had broken into several storage units. After some investigation, officers found items in the U-Haul that were linked to previous thefts from the day before at that same location, plus evidence to suggest that the man had also possibly broken into units at the Nevitt Storage location in the 31-hundred block of West San Antonio Street. That’s where officers discovered that the man had also allegedly stolen a 5-foot by 8-foot long utility trailer that had a propane-powered corn roasting machine mounted on it, worth an estimated 10-thousand dollars. Police then arrested 49-year old Robert William Smith (above), and soon discovered that he was allegedly in possession of some prescription medication that he did not have a prescription for. Smith was taken to the Comal County Jail and booked on 4 counts of burglary of a building, two counts of criminal mischief, two counts of theft of property (including an enhanced charge because of the value of the corn-roasting trailer), and one count of possession of a dangerous drug. His bond was set at just shy of 60-thousand dollars and he remains in custody.

In other police department news:  

New Braunfels Police are on the lookout for the driver of a blue station wagon that apparently rammed the back of a blue Volkswagen Jetta twice Friday night, causing the Jetta to crash into a sign outside the Los Cucos restaurant in the 13-hundred block of East Common Street.  The incident actually began on Loop 337 when the station wagon was first rammed.  The traveling altercation then turned onto East Common Street where the station wagon hit the car again, causing the car to lose control and hit a large pole holding the restaurant sign at the entrance to their parking lot, causing the vehicle’s airbags to deploy for both the driver and the passenger.  The female driver of the car was slightly injured in that crash but refused transport to the hospital, and the passenger was uninjured.  The station wagon drove away from the scene, but police say they have a good idea of who that vehicle belongs to, and who might have been behind the wheel, and the investigation continues.

Another shoplifter at the local Wal-Mart store was allegedly caught in the act by the store’s surveillance employees.  According to the police report, they were first alerted to the possible theft when they observed the woman drinking a soda that she had not yet purchased.  When loss prevention employees confronted the woman, they discovered that she was also in the process of trying to leave the store with a number of other items, including 7 DVD’s, an assortment of cupcakes and candy, several clothing items, and a can of Icy Hot spray, all adding up to over $170 worth of merchandise.  Employees then detained the woman until New Braunfels Police could arrive and make the arrest.  26-year old Jessica Rachel Ryan was taken into custody and booked on a single count of theft of property, and she posted a 2-thousand dollar bond later that same day and was released.