San Antonio deputies say they have their alleged wheelman in a brazen South Loop burglary that gutted an ATM and walked off with a store safe holding roughly $18,000 in cash. Investigators accuse Brion Lorence Alezand Shields of serving as the driver while two other suspects slipped into Ruiz Market on Sept. 6, 2025, loading up an ATM stocked with about $10,000 and a safe containing an estimated $8,000. Detectives say surveillance footage, paired with cellphone data, led them to the vehicle and motel rooms tied to the crew. Shields now faces theft and burglary charges.
According to News 4 San Antonio, arrest affidavits name Shields in a broader investigation that links him to multiple business burglaries along the South Loop. Deputies say surveillance video captured three people pulling up in a black Dodge Durango, with two suspects heading inside while a third stayed with the SUV. The affidavits say deputies later executed search warrants on the Durango and on rooms at the El Tejas Motel as part of the case.
Bexar County Central Magistrate records list Shields under booking number B202626871, confirming he was processed through the county system. The public magistrate entry notes the arrest was logged at the downtown courthouse, making it an official part of the county record.
How investigators say they traced the group
Investigators say they pieced the case together by matching cellphone location data with surveillance footage, which showed three people arriving and later loading both the ATM and the safe into a black Dodge Durango, according to News 4 San Antonio. Deputies report that search warrants on the SUV and motel rooms turned up a yellow dolly, gloves, a skull face mask, a red shirt and a cordless grinder, items they believe were used in the thefts. Cellphones seized during the searches were also collected as evidence for further forensic review.
Crime patterns on the Loop
Local reporting indicates ATM thefts and card skimming continue to crop up along Loop corridors, with officers responding to multiple skimmers and several ATM break-ins in recent years. A KSAT review of police data found that officers discovered 40 card-skimming devices in 2025, a figure that highlights how often criminals target unattended payment machines and gas pumps in the region.
Charges and next steps
According to the arrest affidavits, Shields is accused of theft of an ATM valued at less than $300,000 and burglary of a building, with prosecutors set to determine whether to pursue formal indictments. Magistrate records show the case has been entered into the county system, and future filings from the district attorney or upcoming court dockets will outline any scheduled hearings and final charging decisions.
