A man who police say led Austin officers on a vehicle pursuit through South Austin before abandoning a stolen car and running off on foot is still on the loose, and investigators are now asking the public to help identify him. The chase unfolded the morning of August 13, starting near South I-35 and ending several blocks away near Bentley Garner Lane, where officers set up a perimeter and brought in a K9 unit but never found him.
According to the Austin Police Department, the episode began just after 8:20 a.m. when officers responded to a 911 call reporting a stolen vehicle in the 9300 block of the South I-35 Southbound Service Road. Officers soon spotted the vehicle traveling westbound on West Slaughter Lane and attempted a traffic stop, as reported by KEYE CBS Austin. Instead of pulling over, the driver sped away, kicking off a pursuit that ended when he abandoned the vehicle in the 9500 block of Bentley Garner Lane and ran from the scene.
K9 Search Comes Up Empty
Officers used a K9 unit to try to track the suspect down after he fled on foot, and a perimeter was set up around the area. Despite those efforts, police have not located him. The station's report describes the man as a white or Hispanic man in his mid-30s to mid-40s, with a thin build, a thin beard, and a tattoo on the inside of his right forearm.
The gap between the vehicle stop attempt on West Slaughter Lane and the abandoned car found blocks away on Bentley Garner Lane illustrates the tactical balancing act officers face in these situations. Austin Police Department General Orders § 214 requires officers initiating a pursuit to weigh the need to apprehend a suspect against the safety risks posed to the public on busy arterial roadways, according to Ben Crump Law, PLLC. Once a suspect flees on foot, department policy calls for officers to evaluate threat levels and environmental hazards while keeping dispatchers updated on location, per Police1.
What Charges the Suspect Could Face
If identified and caught, the man would likely face serious felony exposure under Texas law. Operating another person's vehicle without consent qualifies as Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle under Texas Penal Code § 31.07, a state jail felony that does not even require prosecutors to prove intent to permanently deprive the owner of the car, according to Keith & Lorfing.
Fleeing from officers in a vehicle carries its own separate consequences. Under Texas Penal Code § 38.04, evading arrest while driving is also classified as a state jail felony, punishable by 180 days to two years in state jail and fines up to $10,000, according to the Law Office of David D. White, PLLC.
A Familiar Problem for Austin Drivers
This case fits into a much larger pattern of vehicle theft across the city. APD offense data shows Austin typically records between 500 and 600 motor vehicle thefts every month, according to CBS Austin. The Hyundai Elantra, Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, Kia Optima, and Toyota Camry rank among the most frequently targeted models in the city, per APD crime tracking data.
That steady volume of theft is part of why the Austin City Council approved a resolution in May allowing APD to apply for and accept nearly $1.5 million in grant funding from the Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, money earmarked for the department's Auto Burglary and Theft Interdiction Project. Detectives have also been warning drivers about newer theft methods, including handheld device key-fob cloning that lets thieves start a car without a physical key in minutes.
It remains unknown whether the suspect in this case acted alone or whether the stolen vehicle was taken using a physical key, cloning tools, or some other method, and investigators have not said whether they have recovered security footage from businesses along South I-35 or Slaughter Lane. Anyone with information is asked to contact the APD Auto Theft Unit at (512) 974-5265 or by email at [email protected]. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Capital Area Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477, which offers a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.
