Car break-ins at Austin trails: 2 arrested after investigation

AUSTIN, Texas - Two men have been arrested in connection to multiple vehicle burglaries. 

Their arrests come as the Austin Police Department investigates a series of car break-ins that have taken place at popular park and trail locations, including Mount Bonnell, Bull Creek and the St. Edward’s Greenbelt.

The backstory:

On July 30, 65-year-old Michael Grant and 40-year-old Fabian Ellison were taken into custody near Mt. Bonnell. 

In response to an increase in car break-ins, APD has implemented directed patrols in affected areas. Officers conducting a directed patrol at Mount Bonnell responded to a newly reported vehicle burglary. Law enforcement would then find Grant and Fabian, recovered stolen property from one of the victims, and found evidence of the burglary, including window punch tools and shattered vehicle glass. 

APD says the two suspects are connected to multiple vehicle burglaries and anticipate filing additional charges as the investigation continues.

Records show that Ellison had bonded out on at least four separate Credit/Debit card abuse cases dating back to 2025. 

At the time of his arrest, he had active warrants for bond compliance in those cases. A law enforcement expert said if he is found guilty, the focus should be making sure that the car break-ins don’t go unpunished.

Dig deeper:

Their arrests come a little more than a week after Austin Park Rangers announced they noticed break-ins occurring at popular trail spots across the city. 

One of those break-ins was captured on July 12 by a camera set up by a citizen along Bull Creek. In the video, a man can be seen removing a truck window before jumping inside. 

In just around a minute, he made his way out of the vehicle and jumped into the passenger side of a getaway car which then took off. The video, captured by James Baumgardner, directly contributed to identifying the suspects in this case. 

In a statement, APD said, "In this investigation, video captured by a community member proved instrumental in identifying the suspects. Detectives were able to identify and connect the suspects to multiple burglaries within hours of receiving the footage. Without that evidence, many of the cases would likely have remained unsolved due to a lack of investigative leads."

When asked about how these sorts of crimes are treated, APD said: "Burglary of a vehicle is generally a Class A misdemeanor under Texas law, though the offense can become a felony depending on a suspect's criminal history or if additional felony offenses, such as credit or debit card abuse or possession of stolen property, are involved. APD investigates every reported burglary of a vehicle, and proactive enforcement efforts are prioritized in locations experiencing recurring crime trends."

"To put more patrols in the area is a deterrent. Will it solve the situation? It will not," says Randy Sutton, a 36-year law enforcement expert and former Las Vegas PD Lieutenant. 

While he believes that targeted patrols will help the problem, he says it will be hard to root out if video evidence isn’t captured. 

"It's difficult because the only other way to collect evidence is through some type of forensic investigation, and to bring out a forensic investigator for a crime that is considered a very low-level crime is not going to happen," Sutton said.

From 2022-2025, a pilot program for surveillance cameras was set up along 15 parks and trails in Austin, including Bull Creek and St. Edward’s Park. Many of those areas saw a decrease in burglaries during that time. 

At the beginning of this year, an agenda item was removed from the Austin City Council, which would have entered the city into a five-year deal with the company behind the cameras, LiveView Technologies. 

The contract was met with pushback from protesters who believed the cameras would lead to privacy issues. The vote would be postponed and was never picked back up again by the City Council.

"Surveillance cameras are necessary. They're needed, they're a great tool, they are a deterrent, and the people who are in leadership positions should just say, "We're going to do this because it's the right thing to do.’ The reason that they are effective is simply because they work," says Sutton.