by ANDY SEVILLA
Two 18-year-olds have been arrested and charged with 10 car burglaries each in a Hometown Kyle burglary spree that left a homeowner injured.
Brian Hempel, who lives on Sweet Gum Drive and discovered the alleged car burglars, told police he was punched in the face after trying to detain one of the suspects.
Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said that police were called out to Hometown and Camelia parkways after Brian had noticed his car door was open and his spare key and spare change were missing from his vehicle.
Barnett said Hempel drove around the neighborhood and noticed numerous other vehicles with open doors as well. He said Brian approached two individuals in the area that were on bicycles, dressed in black with backpacks, and asked them what they were doing and if they had been “popping locks” – a car burglary term.
Once confronted, one of the suspects, Derrick Lewis, shouted, “We got to get out of here,” Barnett said.
Brian asked the other suspect, Ashlee Lynn Page, to stop and he tried detaining her, prompting her to get off her bicycle and go on the attack, according to Barnett.
Ashlee Lynn Page, who according to jail records stands at 6-foot 1-inch in height and weighs 215 pounds, punched Brian twice in the face. He then “bear-hugged” her to keep her from striking him and from fleeing the scene, Barnett said.
Two males stopped by the scene to inform Hempel that police were en route, Barnett said.
Page was immediately apprehended and charged with felony robbery on Nov. 12. According to jail records, her charges now include nine more burglary of a vehicle charges, class A misdemeanors.
After several interviews with Page, police later were able to identify Lewis, who was arrested Friday on 10 burglary of a vehicle warrants.
Police Sgt. Jacob Luria said “all the cars (that were broken into) were unlocked” at the time.
Luria said both suspects have implicated each other in the alleged crimes during interviews and, as of now, only a laptop has been recovered.
Page and Lewis are still in custody and being held on a $68,000 and $10,000 bond, respectively.
According to Hays County Jail records, neither Page nor Lewis have any previous arrests.