Houston area couple arrested for string of jugging
(Seguin) – A year long investigation has landed a Houston area couple behind bars.
Seguin Police officials say over the course of the last year, Seguin has experienced a handful of jugging incidents which have been under investigation. Jugging is described when suspects follow people in vehicles who may be carrying large sums of money. They say these are typically people who leave the bank to go home or to another business. These criminals wait to break into the victim’s car or truck and/or commit armed robbery, stealing the victim’s money.
The local investigation is said to have uncovered multiple vehicle burglaries within multiple jurisdictions. The Seguin Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division was able to locate vehicle rental history used by the suspects and tied both the suspects and vehicles to various jugging incidents with the city of Seguin, Temple, and Buda.
Arrested were Stoney Oliver,39, and Taquette Byrd, 39, of Rosharon. They say the suspects were found to have rented numerous vehicles from the Houston Hobby Airport.
According to police, after renting vehicles, the suspects would then travel to the greater San Antonio Area and would remove the original registered plate and would swap it with a stolen temporary tag before committing these thefts.
During this investigation, the Seguin Police Department requested and received assistance from multiple agencies. They included the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office, the Temple Police Department, the Buda Police Department, the Trinity University Police Department, and the US Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force.
Oliver was charged with two counts of burglary of vehicles with two or more previous convictions. Byrd faces one count of burglary of a vehicle. The arrest warrants were issued by Guadalupe County Justice of the Peace Pct. 1 Darrell Hunter.
Oliver was later taken into custody by the US Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force, where he was transported and booked in the Brazoria County Jail.
Byrd last week was also taken into custody by the US Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force, where she was transported and booked into the Galveston County Jail. Oliver also faced other charges resulting in his transport to the Galveston County Jail.
Seguin Police officials strongly encourage those who withdraw sums of money to be aware of their surroundings and to avoid distractions. They are also asked to conceal their cash and valuables. They say it’s also important that they return home to safety store cash before running errands, and to call 9-1-1 immediately if they see anything suspicious.
Officials say this case remains under investigation.