PASADENA, Texas – A suspected burglar was busted by the Pasadena Police Department as he tried to hide in a backyard Saturday night, but it was all because of high tech, high in the sky that officers got him in handcuffs.
Ricardo Garcia Jr., 34, is charged with burglary and drug possession.
After he allegedly broke into a garage and was scared off by the homeowner, Pasadena police officers put a drone in the sky above Butterfly Circle and found Garcia hiding in a different backyard.
“We heard yelling in the backyard. Get down, get down, get down,” said Paul Bauer.
Garcia was hiding in Bauer’s backyard just after Bauer put his baby to sleep on Saturday night. Officers showed up outside his house as a drone hovered above.
“They just told me he had broken into somebody’s garage down the street, and they’ve been following him with the drone,” Bauer said.
The burglary victim didn’t want to be identified, but told KPRC 2 off camera that he heard a loud noise from his garage as he watched the Astros game on Saturday evening.
He went to check it out and saw Garcia standing in his garage doorway.
Garcia appeared to be under the influence, the homeowner said, and asked him for some water.
The homeowner then told Garcia to get off his property, showed his pistol, and scared him down the street. That’s when he called police.
He wasn’t sure how long Garcia had been in his garage, but he found several boxes rummaged through. Garcia left behind a backpack which the homeowner said contained drug paraphernalia and cell phones among other items.
Garcia then returned twice, the homeowner said, to retrieve his belongings.
The homeowner said on one of the returns, Garcia was armed with something sharp. He showed KPRC 2 where the screens on his windows had been cut, a window had been broken, and pry marks appeared around two window frames on the outside of his house.
He called police back and when they arrived, they launched a drone from a patrol car. Officers flew it a block away from the burglary scene and found Garcia.
“We have had several instances where we have been able to find suspects like this,” Sgt. Raul Granados said. “They’re very effective.”
The department has been experimenting with drones for about two years, he said. The technology and battery life has improved.
“We’re going to use technology to our advantage, we’re going to use everything that we have to try to catch people,” Sgt. Granados said.
In the past, Pasadena PD would have had to ask for help from a neighboring law enforcement agency, like the Houston Police Department, to get a helicopter in the air.
With drones, officers are able to launch from patrol cars in neighborhoods when minutes matter.
“It felt a lot safer than kind of what you typically would picture,” Bauer said. “I’m honestly just impressed that the cops got there so quickly.”
The burglary victim, who was pretty rattled when this all happened, said he was grateful for the police department’s quick response.
Sgt. Granados said drones are only launched by police when needed. They are not used to watch over the City of Pasadena and every flight gets logged.
Records show Garcia is being held without bond, because he was already out on bond for another recent drug charge.