Chaos unfolded in Fayette County with the arrest of two men, leading to a cascade of charges including burglary and unauthorized vehicle use. Roberto Luna, 39, and Cody Powell, 31, from Hallettsville, were apprehended on June 3 after a spree involving property damage and theft, according to FOX 7 Austin. The Fayette County Sheriff's Office reported that Luna is facing charges for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and unlawful carrying of a weapon, while Powell has been charged with evading arrest and possession of stolen property, with burglary charges pending for both.
The string of incidents began early in the morning when a 911 call alerted authorities to property damage on Gebert Road; simultaneously, a suspicious vehicle was reported on the intersecting Salem Freyburg Road, a vehicle later found by deputies abandoned, which matched the description of the van stolen from a local business and responsible for the initial property damage incident but not before it backed into a tree and fled, CBS Austin reported.
The sequence of events saw deputies encountering one suspect in dark clothing fleeing on foot across a pasture and detaining another suspect hiding in the grass; subsequent investigations led them to the discovery of the white van and to a residence on Gebert Road that had been burglarized and several firearms stolen. With the help of multiple agencies and a reverse 911 call to residents, a full-scale search ensued culminating in the recovery of all stolen firearms in a field where the suspects had attempted to evade capture.
As the day progressed, reports of a suspicious individual on Salem Freyburg Road emerged, deputies found and arrested the suspect—later identified as one of the two men—riding a bicycle that was also reported as stolen, and even after the suspect abandoned the bicycle, his attempt to escape on foot was thwarted by the authorities. Both Luna and Powell were subsequently taken into custody and are currently held at the Dan R. Beck Justice Center, the scene coming to an end with the recovery of the stolen weapons and vehicles the next day and the men now awaiting the full weight of the judicial process to bear down.
