A Houston father has turned in his own son after the teen confessed to burglarizing a Houston officer’s civilian vehicle and stealing a gun, along with other police equipment.
Theodis Daniel said he talks frequently with his son Cristian Daniel, 18, who lives in Austin. A FaceTime call between the two took a turn, however, when the teen showed his father a large Black bag and proceeded to pull out a gun, ammo and a reflective vest, among other items, local station KVUE-TV reported. That’s when he dropped the bomb, telling his father all about his daring burglary spree the week before.
“He was like, making a joke, bragging about it,” Daniel told the station. “[He said], ‘Yeah I broke into 250 cars last week,’ and I was like, ‘How in the hell did you do that?!’ ‘Oh I just went after one after another one after another one.'”
“I said, ‘You broke into a policeman’s car?’ Daniel continued, noting that his son specifically targeted cars near jogging trails and in parking lots. “‘ I said, nah, nah, I’ve had it with you. “I said, ‘Man you’ve gotta stop what you’re doing this is getting out of control.’ I said, ‘You gonna stop?’ And he wouldn’t answer me. So I stopped it for him.”
The concerned father went to the police on April 16 to report his son’s crimes. Daniel told them his son showed him at least five or six different handguns during their Facetime call that evening. He said he made the tough decision to turn his eldest son in out of fear that he might hurt someone, or get hurt himself.
“If he would have stayed out here doing what he was doing, he was going to die,” Daniel said. “…He’s not in California anymore. He’s in Texas and Texans do not play with people stealing.”
Cristian has since been charged with one count of theft of a firearm and unlawful carrying of a weapon, according to KVUE-TV. Authorities said the teen is also suspected in several other crimes, including vehicle and home burglaries.
A police search of Cristian’s bedroom turned up several handguns, including the one stolen from the Houston officer, numerous ammunition magazines, a neon police set, a gas mask and an HPD ticket book, according to an affidavit. The teen remains behind bars with bonds totaling nearly $40,000 — bonds his father isn’t helping pay.
“I needed him to think about what direction he wanted to take in his life,” Daniel said. “He can stay where he’s at or does he want to come out and be a productive, law-abiding citizen right now.”
