A woman leaving a Hill Country bank was followed to her home and attacked outside her own front door, according to New Braunfels police, who say the two men accused of chasing her down were caught within a matter of hours thanks to an automated camera network scattered around the city. Mekhi McKinstry, 22, of Richmond, and Christian Woods, 20, of Houston, are each charged with aggravated robbery and evading arrest in the case.
Woman Followed Home, Confronted While Getting Out of Her Car
Police say the alleged crime happened around 10:15 a.m. on September 3 at the woman's home in the 2200 block of Meadow Way in New Braunfels, according to a New Braunfels Police Department report cited by The Bandera Review. Investigators say the men had followed the woman home from a bank and tried to steal her purse as she was exiting her vehicle, an incident first detailed by the San Antonio Express-News. The type of crime, commonly known as jugging, involves suspects who watch bank or ATM customers withdraw cash and then follow them to steal it once they're alone.
The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the confrontation, per police, and did not require emergency transportation to a hospital, according to the same report from The Bandera Review. The men then fled the scene in a car, according to court records, setting off a rapid police response across the northern edge of the city.
License Plate Camera Flags Getaway Car Within Minutes
The suspects' vehicle, a greenish-yellow Chevrolet Trax, was spotted by a license plate reader camera as it turned onto the Interstate 35 access road from North Kowald Lane, not far from the victim's Meadow Way residence, according to a New Braunfels Police Department report cited by Texan Report. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but McKinstry and Woods bailed out and fled on foot before it came to a stop at a gas station on Loop 337 near I-35, the report notes.
One of the men was caught immediately at the gas station, while the second ran into a wooded area near Loop 337 and Business 35. Police say K-9 units and aerial drones, working with assistance from the Comal County Sheriff's Office, tracked him down after the foot chase, per the same report from Texan Report.
Cameras Central to New Braunfels' Crime-Fighting Push
The arrest highlights a broader push by New Braunfels police to expand its automated surveillance network. Police Chief Osvaldo Flores told KSAT in December that the department was running 17 Flock Safety license plate reader cameras at the time, with plans to grow that number to 57 units capable of generating real-time alerts to officers. Those camera networks are financed in part through Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority grants funded by a state-mandated fee on Texas auto insurance policies, according to KVUE.
This isn't the first time New Braunfels has dealt with a bank-jugging scheme. In May 2023, police say suspects followed a customer from a local bank to a gas station, burglarized his vehicle, and then crashed their getaway car — a black Toyota RAV-4 with Florida plates — at Walnut Avenue and Gardenia Lane. New Braunfels also saw a Chase Bank robbery last September.
Part of a Wider I-35 Jugging Pattern
San Antonio and Houston police departments reported late last year that Houston-based jugging crews increasingly travel the Interstate 35 and Interstate 10 corridors to target bank customers in Central Texas communities, a trend cited by KENS 5. That would fit McKinstry and Woods, who live in the Houston area, allegedly targeting a bank customer roughly 175 miles away in New Braunfels.
State lawmakers have taken notice of the pattern. In June 2025, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1902 into law, creating Texas Penal Code § 29.04, which specifically criminalizes jugging as a state jail felony and can elevate the charge to a first-degree felony when it involves robbery or physical violence, according to the Texas Bankers Association. Separately, aggravated robbery under Section 29.03 of the Texas Penal Code is already classified as a first-degree felony, carrying a punishment range of 5 to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Both McKinstry and Woods have since been released from jail after each posted a $53,000 bond, according to court records. It remains unknown whether Comal County prosecutors will pursue additional charges specifically under the new jugging statute, or whether the pair have ties to any of the broader Houston-area jugging networks that regional task forces have been investigating.
