Probation Search Finds Officer's Stolen Gun

On April 20 at approximately 2 p.m., Brown County Sheriff's Investigators Jason Benefield and Carlyle Gover assisted Brown County Probation Department in a probation search of a residence in the 100 block of Williams Drive in Early, according to Grubbs.

Contact was made with the probationer, identified as 38-year-old Stephen Shores, and as a result of the search of his residence, investigators located two devices used to smoke methamphetamine and a small caliber handgun, the release states.

Grubbs stated that while checking to see if the handgun had been reported as stolen, one of the probation officers noticed the gun as being similar to one that was recently stolen out of his pickup at the courthouse parking lot. A comparison of the serial numbers confirmed the gun to be one in the same, according to Grubbs.

The gun had been reported stolen two days prior to the Brownwood Police Department, which is currently working that case, Grubbs stated.

Shores was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a firearm, and theft of a firearm. The release states that information obtained in the investigation is being followed up and may tie the theft of this gun with other cases of burglary and theft currently being worked in Brownwood and Early.

In an unrelated case on April 20 at approximately 4:30 p.m., BCSO Deputies responded to a report of burglary in progress. According to Grubbs, during an investigation, deputies learned that a witness had driven up to check on a friend's storage building located on County Road 310 just outside of Early and arrived to find an unknown vehicle parked at the location.

The man saw a subject, later identified as 42-year-old Daniel Quintanilla, standing by the pickup who stated that he was "broken down, " the release states. A second man, later identified as 38-year-old Oscar Zuniga-Oviedo took off running from the location into the woods at this time and was later located by deputies in the nearby woods, according to Grubbs.

At that time, Quintanilla then also fled the scene in the vehicle; however he was found later driving near the location, the release states. Upon further investigation, items were found to be missing from the storage building and evidence at the scene put both men inside the building, according to the press release. Both Daniel Quintanilla and Oscar Zuniga-Oviedo were arrested for burglary of a building.

In another unrelated case, Monday morning Brown County Sheriff's deputy Nathan Land was conducting a criminal interdiction on Highway 183N in Early and made a traffic stop. According to the release, the stop was made in the Heartland Mall parking lot which also houses Ranger Junior College. The driver of the vehicle, identified as 37-yead-old Reynaldo Garza, was arrested for possession of marijuana in a drug-free zone after a search of his vehicle and person found a small amount of marijuana on Garza.