The prime suspect in a rash of home break-ins in central Chapala is under the lock and key of law enforcement captured during a dramatic police chase fit for the script of a cops-and-robbers action flick.
Juan Álvaro Padrón Macias (alias “El Pichón”) was taken in custody on Tuesday, January 13, within minutes after an anonymous caller rang up police headquarters to report an intruder spotted at a yellow house located on Calle Acapulco near the intersection of Flavio Romero.
In the sequence of events described by Chapala Public Security director Moisés Torres, police cruisers sped to the scene shortly after 1 p.m., where officers jumped into action, shouting out orders for the trespasser to come out of the premises and surrender. Instead the suspect, later identified as El Pichón, responded with a couple of rounds of gunfire. He then attempted to escape on foot, dashing through neighboring properties with police in hot pursuit. 
The manhunt ended almost two blocks away when Padrón, and Torres close on his heels, simultaneously tumbled off a rooftop side by side. The suspect was sent to Guadalajara’s Hospital Civil to be held under police custody while under treatment for a broken jaw and more minor injuries sustained in the fall. The police chief is on his feet, remaining on duty as he recovers from his own bumps and bruises. No one else suffered harm in the high adrenaline incident.
Padrón was caught in possession of a 22-caliber revolver, two cell phones and a backpack containing a collection of hand tools crooks commonly utilize to break locks and force entry through doors and windows.
According to local authorities, the 18-year-old suspect has an extensive police record. Lately he has been in police crosshairs as the presumed ringleader of a local gang responsible for a string of home burglaries perpetrated in various Chapala neighborhoods over the past two months. The police blotter showed up to four break-ins per day, says Torres, who attributes at least 60 percent of the crimes to El Pichón and his accomplices.
Chapala Ministerio Público (MP) supervisor Rogelio Reyes notes that the district attorney’s office brought up a burglary charge against Padrón after he was arrested last November. However, he avoided prosecution because the local criminal court judge dismissed the case on the basis of legal technicalities.
Reyes expressed confidence that burglary charges will stick this time around due to the fact that the notorious suspect was caught in the act in a coordinated operation involving both the municipal police force and state investigators, adding weight to the accumulation of evidence against him. Nonetheless, he urges all burglary victims to file formal criminal complaints with the MP and follow-up on pending cases.
Meanwhile, Mayor Joaquín Huerta, his public security chief and municipal judge Roberto Pérez sat down on Thursday with a dozen burglary victims to give ear to their concerns and reassure them that they are committed to putting a check on the crime wave. Huerta pledged to pressure state authorities to make sure Padrón doesn’t get off the hook. On a postive note, Torres revealed that not a single break-in has been reported since his capture.