This wreck account is from Van Alstyne PD, Lt. Steven Hayslip

Van Alstyne – At 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 14 (2024), the Van Alstyne Police Department received a transferred 911 call from Collin County. The caller reported a gray Dodge truck driving recklessly northbound on U.S. Highway 75, striking barriers and other vehicles along the way.

Van Alstyne PD officers quickly located the truck and saw the erratic driving behavior. Upon activating their emergency lights and sirens, police saw the driver refuse to stop. He turned off the vehicle’s lights, and continued northbound on U.S. 75 at a high rate of speed. North of FM 902 in Howe, the truck crossed the grass median to the service road before attempting to reenter the highway. At this point, the driver lost control of the vehicle.

The driver, the only occupant, identified as Dallas resident Delio Lomas, 37, was ejected from the truck. Officers on the scene immediately provided first aid until EMS arrived who then took over life-saving measures. Lomas went by ambulance to AHS Sherman Medical Center Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Police later determined that the vehicle had been stolen earlier in the evening from a grocery store parking lot in McKinney. Additionally, it was discovered that Lomas had been released from Collin County Jail just hours before the incident, where he had been held for a probation violation related to theft.

There were no other reported injuries as a result of this incident.

The Van Alstyne Police Department extends its condolences to Mr. Lomas’s family and appreciates the cooperation and assistance of the Texas Department of Highway Patrol and Sherman Police Department in this ongoing investigation.

By Mary Jane Farmer for the Van Alstyne News, Scene In Town

Van Alstyne Police made several arrests during the final week of January, and in the process removed several drugs from several drivers.  Van Alstyne Police Lt. Steven Hayslip reported the following.

July 25 — About 2 pm, a caller reported a reckless driver on U.S. Highway 75 around Farmington Road. The caller had said the driver wasn’t maintaining its lane and causing other drivers to swerve to keep from being hit. Police located the vehicle, turned on its overhead flashing lights, but the driver did not pull over, Hayslip said. They turned on the patrol car’s siren, but the driver still failed to yield for several miles. But then, finally, the did pull over and stop.

The officers determined that the driver was intoxicated and that she had previous Driving While Intoxicated convictions. They jailed the driver, a Dallas woman, on charges of DWI 3^rd or More and of Evading Arrest with a Vehicle. She posted $60,000 bail in surety bonds later that same day for her release.

July 26 — It was about 3 p.m. when police made a traffic stop on U.S. 75 at Redden Road, after seeing the vehicle had no front license plate. The made contact with the driver, a Dallas man, and smelled the odor of Marijuana. With that probable cause element, they searched the vehicle and found small amount of Marijuana in the bag and arrested the suspect.

Grayson County Jail records show that the suspect posted $750 bail in a surety bond and was released the next day.

July 28 — About 11:30 p.m., a police officer made a traffic stop on U.S. 75 at Van Alstyne Parkway (FM 121) after running a check on the vehicle and discovering there was no liability insurance covering it. Hayslip said it is the Texas Traffic Code that requires liability insurance.

The officer, by obtaining the driver’s identification, learned that there was an active warrant issued by Dallas County. The police also smelled the distinctive odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. They conducted a probable-cause search and found both marijuana and a substance that field-tested positive as cocaine.

subsequent field test resulted in a positive result. The driver was placed under arrest for Warrant Service and Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 (Cocaine) less than one gram.

Police jailed the suspect, a Dallas man, at the Grayson County Jail on the warrant and on a charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance (cocaine).

Jail records show that there was a second Dallas County warrant also placed on the suspect. These two warrants charged him with Burglary of Vehicles and Fleeing a Police Officer.

He posted $5,000 bail in a surety bond for the Van Alstyne charge, and $2,000 in cash bonds on the Dallas County warrants  and was then released the next day.

July 29 — Again, a late-night traffic stop resulted in the arrest of a driver. Hayslip reported that it was about 11:45 p.m. Monday night and the officers made a traffic stop based on the vehicle’s having a defective license plate light. The first thing they noticed when they talked with the driver was an open container of an alcoholic beverage They had the driver step out of the car and when he did, Hayslip said, they saw a clear bag containing a white powdery substance. A probable-cause search and field test determined it was cocaine in the baggie.

They placed the driver, a Melissa man, under arrest on a charge of Possession of Controlled substance (Cocaine.)

Jail records show that the suspect paid $5,000 bail in a surety bond and was released the next day.

July 30 — At 2 in the morning, police made a traffic stop on U.S. 75 at Simmons Loop after seeing the vehicle speeding on the highway. The driver stopped for the police, who then smelled what smelled like Marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. Again, a probable-cause search had them find a small amount of marijuana, along with a prescription pill bottle with no label on it.

Hayslip said the officers recognized the pills as those that require a prescription, but that the driver could not provide any proof the pills were prescribed to her, and so they jailed her on a charge of Possession of a Dangerous Drug.

Grayson County Jail records show that bail was set at $2,500, which the suspect, a Houston woman, paid with a surety bond and was released later that day.

July 31 — At 5:30 p.m., officers were sent to a reckless driver reportedly coming eastward on FM 121 from Gunter. The caller told dispatch, Hayslip said, that the driver wasn’t maintaining his lane, at times even driving into oncoming traffic. They found and stopped the vehicle, made contact with the driver, and smelled the odor of an intoxication beverage coming from him. Hayslip said the driver stated he was drunk and so police put him through a series of Standardized Sobriety Tests, which showed him to be intoxicated.

They jailed this suspect, a Princeton man, on a charge of DWI With an Open Container. His bail was set at $2,500, which he posted with a surety bond with conditions attached, and was freed the next day.

By Mary Jane Farmer for the Van Alstyne News, Scene In Town.

Between July 17 and July 23, Van Alstyne Police made the following arrests. Police Lt. Steve Hayslip reported on these. There were no crimes reported which have not yet resulted in an arrest.

July 12 Arrest — At about 8 a.m., police made a traffic stop at U.S. Highway 75 and Jim Jones Road after seeing the vehicle being driven with an expired license plate, The officers made contact with the driver, a Sherman woman, and following protocol, they uncovered an arrest  warrant issued in Grayson County, which charged her with Driving With License Invalid enhanced because of previous conviction on the same charge. They. jailed the suspect at Grayson County Jail. She posted bail set at $1,500 in surety bonds the following day for her release.

July 19 Arrest — The police dispatcher received a call about a reckless driver and sent police to the address given. They located and stopped the described vehicle. It s driver was identified as a Waxahachie man. Hayslip said the suspect showed signs of intoxication, so the police conducted Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and then arrested him on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated. He posted bail set at $1,500 and was released the following day.

July 19 Arrest — A second reckless driver call that same day resulted in the arrest of an Anna man. And again the driver showed signs of having been intoxicated. And, as before, police put him through Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, which led to the suspect’s jailing on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated with an Open Alcohol Container. A magistrate at the Grayson County Jail set $1,500 bail, payable with a surety bond.

July 20 Arrest — About 11 p.m., Van Alstyne Police on patrol made a traffic stop on a vehicle they saw weaving in and out of the lane of travel. The driver, a Van Alstyne man, showed signs of intoxication, and thus was put through the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. At its completion, police arrested and jailed the suspect on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated. Jail records show that he posted set bail of $1,500 in surety bonds for his release the next day.

July 24 arrest — Van Alstyne Police jailed an Arlington woman Tuesday on four charges. She first came to their attention, Hayslip said, on Monday, when police were sent to Texas Bank on the west side of FM121/Van Alstyne Parkway, because of a ‘suspicious person.’ They talked with the woman, and then let her go without incident.

Then, on Tuesday, while conducting routine patrol, they saw the same woman going into a vacant home in a housing development in the 12,000 block of FM 121. Hayslip said it appeared to the officers that was removing items from the house. They immediately contacted the owner, who told them that no one should be at that house.

Officers placed the suspect under arrest for Burglary of a Habitation. Once under arrest, the suspect provided a false identification card to officers. Hayslip said the police used intelligence database checks to identify the female. Then, during a protocol search, they found her. in possession of both cocaine and methamphetamine.

The suspect remained incarcerated in lieu of bail as of Wednesday afternoon on two counts of possession of controlled substance between 4-200 grams, one count each of Burglary of Habitation and Failure to Identify herself.

By Mary Jane Farmer, for the Van Alstyne News

Van Alstyne Police made the following arrests within the past two weeks, and Police Lt. Steven Hayslip provided these reports.

On June 29, at 9:40 a.m., officers initiated a traffic stop on US Highway 75 and FM 121 after seeing a vehicle being driven on a public roadway with no front license plate. Upon making contact with the driver, a Sherman resident, and following protocol, the officer discovered an outstanding warrant on the suspect, charging him with reckless driving. Van Alstyne PD jailed the suspect for warrant service. The suspect posted bail set at $1,500 in a surety bond for his release the next day.

On June 30, at 10:00 p.m., officers saw a man passed out in the driver’s seat of a car in the parking lot of a business at 1001 W Van Alstyne Parkway. at 1001 W. Van Alstyne Pkwy. Officers conducted a welfare check and identified as a San Antonio man, and uncovered an outstanding warrant issued in Bexar County and charging the suspect with indecent exposure. Police also found a firearm in his possession, illegal because the suspect is a convicted felon. They placed him under arrest on the warrant. Hayslip said they also charged him with Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon (Felon). That charge, however, does not show In. the Grayson County Jail records. The suspect laid out his time in jail and was released on July 10.

On July 2, about 3 a.m., officers initiated a traffic stop on Van Alstyne Pkwy and Henry Hynds Expressway after observing a passenger in a vehicle throw a lighted cigarette out the window. Upon making contact with the driver, a Kaufman man, the officer discovered that an outstanding warrant issued in Dallas County. The warrant charged the suspect with theft between $750-$2,500. The officer jailed the suspect on the warrant. He posted bail of $5,000 later the same day for his release.

On July 4, at about 8 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 700 block of Billups regarding a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, officers determined that a verbal altercation (an argument) had turned physical, Hayslip said. The suspect reportedly had impeded a family member’s breathing. Police jailed him a charge of Assault. Hayslip said the victim declined medical services. A magistrate at the jail set bail at $10,000 and added conditions to the surety bond, which the suspect posted for his release July 5.

On July 5, about 11:45 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 300 block of Henry Hynds in regard to a reckless driver. Upon arrival in the area, officers located the vehicle and made a traffic stop. They smelled the odor of alcohol and saw that the driver had red and glassy eyes. They placed the driver, a Mesquite woman, through Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and then incarcerated her in the Grayson County Jail on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated. She met bail of $1,500 later that same day for her release.

On July 7, about 1 a.m., an officer initiated a traffic stop after seeing a vehicle operating on a public roadway with defective equipment (license plate light). Upon making contact with the driver, a Lane, Oklahoma, woman, officers observed her to be very nervous. Hayslip reported that, as officers continued to talk with her, she repeatedly kept looking at a backpack that was located beside her. Based on reasonable suspicion, officers asked Cochran for verbal consent to search the vehicle, which she denied. The officer requested a K-9. Once the K-9 arrived on scene, an open-air sniff was conducted. Th K-9 indicated a positive alert, which led the officers to conduct a probable cause search of the vehicle. During the search, officers located methamphetamine. Cochran was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance in Penalty Group 1 (Methamphetamine) over 4 grams and under 200 grams. She posted bail of $15,000 with a surety bond and was released later the same day.

On July 8, about 1 a.m., officers initiated a traffic stop on Van Alstyne Pkwy and Henry Hynds after observing a vehicle make an illegal turn. The officers made a traffic stop and, smelled alcohol and had red and glassy eyes. They conducted a Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, which led to his arrest and incarceration on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated At the jail, officials placed an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) charge on the suspect.

There were no Van Alstyne residents indicted in the Grayson County Grand Jury’s recent session. However, the number of drug indictments remained high with 9 counts for possession of Methamphetamine, 1 count for Cocaine, 1 count for Marijuana, and 5 counts for Fentanyl. Also, they indicted a Collinsville man on 7 counts of Child Pornography.