Police chase that ended with suspect jumping into pond started at vacant lot 'crime hot spot'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Residents in a north Houston neighborhood claim a vacant lot on their street is attracting criminals.

On Wednesday night, three people were arrested after they were allegedly caught stealing in the area. They led police on a wild car chase. ABC13 broke the story and captured SkyEye video of one of the suspects who ran off into a retention pond off Beaumont highway and Oates road.

A witness who wished to remain anonymous said it all started at the vacant lot on 720 Thornton Road.

He says he and others who live in the area witnessed at least two men storing random metal parts behind the fence. "What we kind of connected was that they were using this as a storage lot for all of the things that they have been stealing, and last night, they were finally able to come with the truck and load up that truck of everything," the man who lives in the area, said.

He snapped photos of the men loading a white pickup truck with random items and called the Houston Police Department. Officers spotted the white truck, but it took off.

The chase lasted fifteen minutes and ended when the driver took off running and jumped into the pond, ultimately needing to be rescued because he got so cold he couldn't move.

"I mean we've seen things from stabbings, vehicle chases, cars being stolen, robberies, prostitution, all sorts of things that have stemmed from this trailer park," the witness said.

About a year ago, a Houston Public Works truck was stolen not too far from the area, according to police. The anonymous witness sent ABC13 a video of the thieves pulling the car over near the vacant lot.

"It has just been a lot of challenges with crime and criminal activity being a hot spot for crimes to begin and for crimes to end. We've seen kind of a full gauntlet of things take place as a result of all these holes in the fences," the witness said.

After taking action, ABC13 discovered that Geirin Thrnton LLC owns the lot.

The fence is falling apart in certain spots, which is a violation of the city's ordinance. Houston police say it's the owner's responsibility to repair.

"We are real people that live our lives here, and we have families here, and we are trying to just be safe here," the witness said. "Just do a little bit more on your end for what you are responsible for and don't be negligent to all the crime that has been going on."

ABC13 spoke with someone at the address associated with the owners and explained the ordinance violation. They said they were sending someone out to fix it, but did not say when.

Houston Police Department's differential response team handles these types of issues and was made aware of the issue. At this point, they're just telling neighbors to continue reporting crime when they see it.

ORIGINAL REPORT: SkyEye captures HPD officers trying to fish suspect out of water at end of chase in NE Houston