Kingsville Police Department

KINGSVILLE - (News Release) On Tuesday evening (March 22) at 7:19 PM, employees from a local clothing store in the 2300 block of S. Brahma Boulevard, called police regarding two suspicious people inside their store. Employees believed the male and female were going to steal clothing, as one was trying to distract employees while the other was holding hundreds of dollars’ worth of items. As the male suspect exited the store on the ruse of retrieving cash from the vehicle, a Kingsville Police officer pulled up to the store. The male began speaking with the officer, then took off running. The female exited the store and tried to drive away in the car. A second officer began chasing the male, who threw a pistol from his shorts and was caught a short time later.

The female was trying to escape in the vehicle, but the male had the keys in his pocket. The car had been reported stolen out of San Marcos. The pistol was an Air-Soft pistol with the orange tip painted black. The male was also in possession of several baggies of methamphetamine. The male, who boasted of his street gang affiliation, was identified as Gilbert Ruiz (28). Ruiz was booked into the Kleberg County Jail for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Unauthorized Use of Motor Vehicle, Tampering with Physical Evidence and Evading Arrest/Detention.

Within the female’s possession were multiple driver licenses, identification cards and WIC cards that had other people’s names, along with methamphetamine. After giving officers several different names, she was eventually transported to the Border Patrol Station, where her fingerprints indicated that she is a previously-deported criminal alien, possibly named Paola Guerrero (28). Guerrero was booked in the Kleberg County Jail for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Unauthorized Use of Motor Vehicle, Fraudulent Use of Identifying Information and Failure to Identify.

The investigation continues regarding the owners of the driver licenses/Identification cards and the WIC card. If you have any information on this or any other crimes, please contact Kingsville Crime Stoppers at 361-592-INFO (4636).