Seven arrested on Horseshoe Bend off F.M. 116 south of Copperas Cove after Austin vehicle theft leads to multiple other charges

Special to the Leader-Press

The office of Coryell County Sheriff Scott Williams announced on Thursday afternoon that an investigation into a stolen vehicle off South F.M. 116 south of Copperas Cove ended with the arrest of seven on Sunday. They now face multiple felony charges and are currently in the Coryell County jail.

Among them are two Copperas Cove residents, Paul Perez, 53; and Brittany Stearns, 29. The others included five Killeen residents.

According to a press release from Sheriff Williams, deputies responded to an address in the 2600 block of Horseshoe Bend, shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19.

A woman had reported to Austin police that her vehicle was stolen at gunpoint and that she had located her car in Copperas Cove. Deputies located her stolen Mitsubishi at the Horseshoe bend residence but did not find the property that was reported to be in the vehicle when it was stolen.

She said that a guitar, designer purse with wallet and cash and a laptop computer were inside the vehicle. The laptop was located inside the vehicle, but the other property had been removed.

During their investigation on Horseshoe Bend, deputies were advised that two of the individuals there had removed some of the property and placed it inside the residence.

Deputies then obtained a search warrant for the house and property. The guitar was located inside a silver Ram pickup, which also had been reported stolen, during the execution of the search warrant.

In addition to the stolen property, deputies seized approximately two ounces of methamphetamine, THC carts and pills and dozens of fraudulently obtained or possessed debit cards, vehicle titles and other forms of identification.

The individuals arrested at the scene and their charges are as follows. Bond is a per Coryell County jail records on Thursday:

• Paul Perez, 53, of Copperas Cove (bond set at $99,500) – possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, fraudulent use/possession of identifying items, possession of marijuana, theft of property greater than $750 less than $2,500, abandonment endangerment of a child intentionally/knowingly/recklessly/criminally (two counts);
• Brittany Stearns, 29, of Copperas Cove (bond set at $172,500)-fraudulent use/possession of identifying items, possession of marijuana, manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance greater than four grams less than 200 grams, abandonment/endangerment of a child intentionally/knowingly/recklessly (two counts);
• Eduardo Catalan, 35, of Killeen (bond set at $256,000)- possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, fraudulent use/possession of identifying items, possession of marijuana, theft of property greater than $750 less than $2,500, abandonment endangerment of a child intentionally/knowingly/recklessly/criminally, abandonment/ endangerment of a child (imminent danger), failure to ID fugitive with intent to give false information, indecency with a child sexual contact (Travis County);
• Aaron Pargo, 21, of Killeen (bond set at $60,000) – tampering/fabricating physical evidence, possession of a controlled substance greater than four grams less than 200 grams;
• Fernando Garcia, 21, of Killeen (bond set at $172,500)- possession of a controlled substance greater than four grams less than 200 grams, fraudulent use/possession of identifying items, possession of marijuana, abandonment endangerment of a child intentionally/knowingly/recklessly (two counts);
• Kristina Garcia, 32, of Killeen (bond set at $193,500) - unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, fraudulent use/possession of identifying items, possession of marijuana, theft of property greater than $750 less than $2,500, abandonment endangerment of a child intentionally/knowingly/recklessly (two counts), manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance greater than four grams less than 200 grams, possession of a controlled substance penalty group 2 greater than one gram less than four grams; and
• Tabatha Bartholomew, 29, of Killeen (bond set at $110,000) - tampering/fabricating physical evidence, possession of a controlled substance greater than four grams less than 200 grams, (capias pro fine) theft of property over $100 under $750.

Sunday’s arrests followed a successfully executed knock-and-announce search warrant conducted near Kempner Friday by The Coryell County Sheriff’s Office. That search yielded 3.9 ounces of marijuana, 4.7 grams of fentanyl, 2.4 grams of methamphetamine, 1.6 grams of cocaine, seven tabs of acid and more than six grams of THC products including edibles and THC carts. The narcotics investigation remains active.