Border Patrol K-9 helps Del Rio police arrest burglary suspect

Parked cars across Del Rio were being hit often enough in March that investigators tied the pattern to Jose Alfredo Reyes, 34, and then used a U.S. Border Patrol K-9 team to track him down after he tried to slip away in a neighborhood off Highway 90 East.

Del Rio police said evidence recovered at one burglary scene helped identify Reyes as a suspect in the citywide surge of motor vehicle burglaries. Officers obtained an arrest warrant before spotting him riding a bicycle April 22 near Highway 90 East and Bean Street. When traffic got in the way, the officer lost sight of him. A search of the nearby neighborhood turned up a bicycle and a backpack that investigators believed had recently been abandoned by Reyes, but he was not immediately found.

Police then requested help from the Border Patrol K-9 unit. With the dog team assisting, officers searched again and located Reyes a short time later. He was taken into custody without incident, brought to the police station and interviewed before being arrested for theft of property valued at $750 or more but less than $2,500.

For residents whose vehicles were targeted, the arrest closes one chapter but not the investigation. Del Rio police said the case remains active and additional charges are possible because investigators believe more than one theft and burglary incident was involved. The March burglary run was not treated as a single isolated break-in. Police said it was part of a broader pattern that affected neighborhoods across the city, including the area around Highway 90 East where Reyes was found.

The Del Rio Police Department says its mission is to protect citizens and property, prevent crime, enforce laws and maintain order, and it posts UCR reports and crime statistics for the public. Border Patrol’s Del Rio Sector has also emphasized cooperation with local law enforcement in past leadership ceremonies, showing how the agencies work together on neighborhood crime as well as border enforcement. A separate March vehicle-burglary case involving a stolen 9mm pistol showed the same month was already a difficult one for drivers trying to keep their cars secure in Val Verde County.