SAN ANTONIO – Whether they made people laugh, cry, or simply scratch their heads, the stories on this list definitely made Instagram users click thousands of times.
You can click the links below to view the video.
This top five list covers everything from mailbox theft to a bold robbery to a big drug bust, as well as two accidental deaths.
Mailbox thefts
Viewed 67,000 times, a story posted on Aug. 2 about people caught on camera using master mailbox keys to steal homeowners' letters and packages came in at fifth place on the list.
Although this particular crime happened in a South Side neighborhood near Loop 1604 and South Zarzamora Street, it resonated with people all over.
In fact, the U.S. Postal Service said at the time that it had been happening nationwide.
Man shoots, kills himself while taking out trash, police say
A few days later, on Aug. 6, about 72,000 Instagram users tapped in to hear about one man’s downfall.
San Antonio police say the man, later identified as Woodrow Thomas, Jr., fell while taking out the trash with a gun in his hand.
They say he accidentally fired the gun when he fell, and the bullet struck and killed him.
South Side drug bust
In third place on the list was a story that drew about 76,000 views.
Bexar County sheriff’s deputies walked Alicia Dominguez Garcia and Isaac Mendez Martinez in front of news cameras on Oct. 4.
They were both 38 years old at the time of their arrests.
Investigators say they found drugs in Mendez-Martinez’s car during a traffic stop, then went to his home where they seized a large amount of methamphetamine, cocaine, and cash.
Death of 4-year-old boy
A story about a four-year-old boy’s death had about 77,000 people clicking to learn details.
According to San Antonio police, Zayden Francis was hit by a car and killed after darting into a parking lot at his apartment complex on General McMullen.
Police learned that Francis had left his home on his own, without his parents' knowledge, to go to a nearby playground.
‘High-five robbers’
Security cameras saw the after-effects of a robbery in July, and then more than 200,000 Instagram users also got a look at the couple in those images, making it the No. 1 story on the list.
SAPD referred to the suspects in those images as the “high-five robbers.”
That’s because the camera captured them giving each other a high-five after robbing a local senior.
The victim, Jose Santos Hernandez, 86, was delighted to find out in August that police had arrested a suspect in the case.
Another IG video showing 47-year-old Adriana Dolores Garza’s mugshot drew another 18,000 views.
Honorable mentions
A few other stories that did not make the top five list still deserve honorable mention.
More than 100,000 users in total clicked on a series of videos following the disappearance and search for Olmos Park’s Suzanne Simpson.
Two other stories about women found in unusual places each were viewed more than 25,000 times.
One posted on Aug. 28 was about a woman who fell asleep in a garbage dumpster and then nearly was crushed after being placed in the back of a garbage truck.
Another woman walking along a Southwest Side street in September suffered a minor injury after falling into an open manhole.
Neighbors in the area near Brunswick and Packard streets told me at the time that people regularly steal manhole covers and then sell them as scrap metal.
Read also: