Chief Vasquez Talks about Hit and Run Case
By: Jason Calder
Updated: July 20, 2007
To local police, it was a case that was expected to take months or maybe longer to solve. Now two weeks after the crime, police have the confession of a man involved in a fatal hit and run accident that claimed the life of a San Angelo man. Jason Calder spoke with Police Chief Tim Vasquez about the case and has more on how important the community's role in solving this case really was.The fatal hit and run accident that killed Lorenzo Arteaga Junior July 5th was solved earlier this week when 27-year old William Thomas Harris turned himself in to Justice of the Peace Jessie Martinez.
S.A.P.D. Police Chief Tim Vasquez said, "We did receive a full confession and pretty much at this point it's going to be in the district attorney's hands to determine what the punishment will be."
Vasquez said he has spoken with the Arteaga family and they were relieved when they heard police had found the person responsible.
"They were very very thankful that the case did come to a close. I'm going to be staying in touch with them as they go through the process. We're here to help them go through the process. Especially the second half of this now is the conviction phase or the punishment phase," said Vasquez.
Sadly enough several crimes like this go unsolved or take years for police to receive leads in the case.
He said, "A lot of times people don't get involved in anything unless it affects them personally but they could be that person on the other side wishing someone else had helped them out."
Vasquez credits citizens for doing their part and calling in tips.
He said, "It was very beneficial to have the citizens calling in. We followed up on all the tips that we could and the department worked well as a team. The community plays such a major role in crime prevention and solving crimes like this and we really depend on them. The more active that the community becomes involved in crime fighting, the larger decrease we'll see in crime."
Vasquez said you can continue to do your part by the calling the police, regardless of the crime.
"We want to encourage the people that have tips of crime going on or wanted people to call in. We probably have a lot of unsolved crime that if we could just get a phone call or a tip or two we might be able to clear up," he said.
If you would like to report a tip, Chief Vasquez said to call Crimestoppers at 658-4357. You will remain anonymous and can receive a reward for your tip.
