Two officers injured in pursuit

WESLACO — An attempted auto theft and police pursuit Wednesday morning landed two McAllen officers in hospitals and one of the city’s most wanted behind bars.

Carlos Alberto Montelongo-Puente, 24, of Reynosa, was arrested shortly after the black Dodge sedan he was fleeing in spun out of control on the eastbound Expressway 83 frontage roads, just east of Farm-to-Market Road 1015 in Weslaco.

Pursuing Officer Mike Basaldu lost control of his cruiser at the scene, too, running off the roadway and slamming into a parked car. He sustained injuries to his face and pelvis, which authorities said were not life threatening.

A second officer was also injured in the pursuit after he was hit by the suspect’s vehicle, according to McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez.

Investigators believe Montelongo-Puente and the two teens arrested with him on Wednesday are part of an international auto-theft ring, which has been linked to the Gulf Cartel and their paramilitary wing the Zetas.

“They are based in Reynosa and have primarily operated in the Hidalgo and McAllen areas,” Rodriguez said.

According to police, Montelongo-Puente and his two teenage accomplices were spotted just before 10 a.m. attempting to break into a Dodge Durango parked in the Dillard’s parking lot of La Plaza Mall.

But when an officer approached them on foot, they ran to a waiting Dodge sedan and sped out of the parking lot. That officer tried to stop the car, but was hit and rolled up onto the hood, responding officers said.

He sustained minor injuries and was treated and released from McAllen Medical Center.

As the men fled toward the highway, officers began pursuing the vehicle. The suspects led authorities on a 20-mile chase through six cities before bailing out at the crash site.

Basaldu flew off the road while approaching the abandoned car, Rodriguez said.

Mark Reinitz, owner of C.A.B. Truck and Auto Sales on the expressway in Weslaco, was reading the newspaper in his office when he looked out the window and saw the police cruiser careening toward one of his trucks.

“By the time I got out of the office, the officer was already crawling out of the window,” Reinitz said.

Emergency responders transported Basaldu to Valley Baptist Medical Center via helicopter. He remained at the hospital in good condition as of late Wednesday night, officers said.

Two of the suspects — including Montelongo-Puente — were arrested near the crash site.

A third managed to escape on foot to a subdivision in Mercedes, just south of Business 83, Rodriguez said.

There, he approached a man in a running car and ordered him to drive toward Mexico. The man eventually dropped off the teen, and officers apprehended him on foot about an hour later, just south of Mercedes.

All three suspects were transported to the McAllen Municipal Jail on Wednesday, where they await an arraignment hearing scheduled for today.

The auto-theft ring to which Montelongo-Puente allegedly belongs is believed responsible for dozens of stolen vehicle reports from Mission to the Mid-Valley.

Investigators believe criminal organizations in Reynosa strip the cars of identifying information and then send them back to the United States filled with drug and human cargo.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts, law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.