In a plot twist that would make Shakespeare raise an eyebrow and possibly demand royalties, a Texas man has been charged with murder after allegedly tracking down, confronting, and fatally shooting a suspected thief who had stolen his beloved truck. Because when life gives you lemons, call the sheriff, do not form a vigilante lemonade stand.
The drama began on March 18 in San Antonio, where police say 44-year-old Randy J. Chavez reported his Ford Raptor stolen. If that name sounds like a predator, try telling that to the apparent perpetrators who were perhaps expecting a tamer response when they allegedly took a truck named after a prehistoric killing machine.
Chavez allegedly used a GPS tracker to locate the vehicle at a nearby shopping center, along with a companion who deserves either an Oscar or immunity depending on what happens next. No, he did not call the police. Instead, he allegedly tried a DIY justice approach and confronted 17-year-old Leonel Diaz, who was found sitting inside the truck, with a Glock 19 handgun and a subsequent set of very bad decisions.
According to arrest records, Chavez claimed to have been holding Diaz at gunpoint while waiting for police. But the situation apparently escalated in a way that suggests patience is not the virtue it used to be. Police allege that Chavez fired multiple rounds into the truck, striking Diaz, before fleeing the scene in a different vehicle and only later turning himself in, perhaps after realizing that vigilante justice tends to play poorly in courtrooms filled with actual judges.
Diaz was taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead two days later, with what is likely the least poetic end to a car chase in modern memory. Chavez has since been charged with murder and released on a $150,000 bond, which is either a lot to pay for a Ford Raptor or not quite enough depending on your opinions about due process and internal combustion engines.
Prosecutors have not commented on potential further charges, and for everyone else, it’s a helpful reminder that just because someone steals your truck does not mean you get to reboot your life as a one-man action movie.
Texas, where even stolen vehicles come with plot development.