A Central Texas business manager was arrested for stealing thousands of dollars worth in tools.
On Sept. 7, the Woodway Public Safety Department was notified of a stolen Penske truck from GMJ Enterprises in Woodway.
GMJ Enterprises provides a delivery service for Snap-On tools and contracts with Penske to rent trucks.
Woodway PSD said Santiago Esquivel, the manager for GMJ Enterprises, told police he finished loading the truck on Sept. 6 about 9:50 p.m. Officers were told that there was approximately $37,000 worth of Snap-On tools loaded on the truck, the arrest affidavit said.
The Penske Corporation tracked the stolen truck to New Braunfels. The GPS on the truck shows that it left Woodway at 9:56 p.m. and traveled to a field off Old Persall Road in San Antonio. The truck was there for about 30 minutes before it traveled to New Braunfels, where it was abandoned and found empty.
At the field, police were able to find about half of the stolen property and a black Chevy pickup.
Inside the pickup, they found a Texas ID and a cell phone belonging to the suspect. Further investigation showed the phone had numerous texts and phone calls to Esquivel during the theft of the truck. Police believe Esquivel and the suspect were coordinating their efforts to steal the tools.
There was also evidence that Esquivel was trying to sell Snap-On tools, the affidavit said.
Police believe there was a third person involved in the conspiracy since there is also footage from a convenience store in San Antonio that shows an unknown male in control of the truck.
The owner of GMJ Enterprises said there were several times when orders came up short that Santiago had been responsible for.
According to GMJ Enterprises, there is still about $15,000 worth of tools missing from the truck.
Esquivel was arrested for engaging in organized criminal activity, which is a second-degree felony.
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