SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police say they have arrested the man accused of stealing gold medals out of a USA Paralympian’s vehicle.
Police Chief William McManus on Wednesday confirmed the arrest on Twitter. McManus said the suspect, identified as 36-year-old Rogelio Solis, was picked up by US Marshals near Roosevelt and I-410 on the city’s South Side. He is charged with burglary of a vehicle and theft.
Solis has criminal history in Bexar County dating back to 2004.
On Saturday night, Paralympian Jen Lee posted video of his car being burglarized at The Rim Shopping Center. Lee is a three-time Paralympic medalist with the U.S. Sled Hockey team.
It wasn’t long before Chief McManus saw the post and confirmed the police department was working the case.
“This can’t stand,” McManus said in a tweet.
The medals were recovered the following day from a West Side gas station.
Lee thanked the community for its quick response sharing his post and raising awareness about the case.
“It is more than just a medal because it’s the memories, the people that I connect with, the rehabilitation, the physical therapists, to the doctors to my teammates alongside the guys at rehab with my brothers and sisters in arms,” Lee said.
McManus also credited the community.
“This case caught a lot of interest on social media,” McManus said. ”There’s some things that just piss people off. And what this perpetrator did pissed a lot of people off as evidenced by the tweet.”
Lee said he was grateful to reunite with his medals ahead of a White House visit with his teammates that’s scheduled to happen in May.