AUSTIN, Texas — When it comes to solving a crime, it often takes more than police work to get the job done. The information average citizens provide has proved to be invaluable to law enforcement, and that’s what Austin’s Crime Stoppers program is all about.
Over the years, you’ve likely heard the phrase countless times: Call Crime Stoppers. As it turns out, that’s for good reason. Austin Police Detective Patrick Reed says when it comes to fighting crime or finding a suspect, “It still really comes down to the relationship between the community and the police department,” despite the benefits of advanced technology. “And Crime Stoppers is one way to maintain that relationship.”Crime Stoppers is a national organization. Your tip goes to a clearinghouse, which works to funnel those tips back to the appropriate region. That’s where Capital Area crime stoppers comes into play. They’re a Central Texas action program that encourages citizen involvement in making our community a safer place to work and live.Take March 2023, for example. “We had a homicide off North Lamar in the Payton Gin area. And we developed a suspect by the name of Steven Bryant,” Reed said. “He had changed phone numbers. He was living in a tent. He had done a lot of things to seemingly, conceal himself from apprehension.”After four months of technically going off the grid, a Crime Stoppers tip tracked Bryant in Indiana. He was arrested for murder, brought back to Texas and sentenced last month to 40 years in prison.
Reed says part of what makes Crime Stoppers such a valuable service is the anonymity factor. This is true even in a high-profile case such as that of serial killer Raul Meza Jr., who had a lifetime of experience alluding police and flying under the radar.
“Something about Mr. Meza is that he had been incarcerated or involved with law enforcement since he was about 15 years old. He had been in and out of jail so he had developed a tradecraft to keep himself from having any real digital footprint,” Reed said.
“Someone like Meza who’s been in the system for 40 years, 50 years, understands the police. He understands how police can use technology. So he didn’t have a cell phone. He didn’t pay with credit cards. He paid with cash. He paid cab drivers cash to drive in places. He used pseudonyms.”
On May 29, 2023, law enforcement arrested Meza Jr. at a bus stop near Parmer Lane and North Lamar, just days after he confessed to killing his 80-year old roommate Jesse Fraga in Pflugerville.
“The smoking gun here was someone saw him at a bus stop and recognized him and called and made a tip to Crime Stoppers,” Reed said. A timely tip that wound up preventing Meza from potentially killing someone else. “It really came down to a community member just seeing something and saying something and making that report,” he said.You can submit a tip to Austin Crime Stoppers in three ways: online, in the app or by phone at 512-472-8477. You could be eligible for cash rewards.