HOUSTON – A Houston rapper suspected in hundreds of auto burglaries has been charged in one, with help from an alleged victim.
The suspect, who uses the stage name Quan Pacino, has posted numerous audio tracks and videos on YouTube.
But Houston police know him as Marquan Elder, and describe him as a 30-year-old career criminal and street gang member who specializes in car burglaries and bank jugging.
Sergio Castellanos is an alleged victim who runs a small electrical contracting company from his home in southeast Houston.
On Oct. 15, a thief stole $1,800 in cash from his truck as it sat in his driveway. Castellanos believes the thief followed him home from his bank, where he had withdrawn the money.
“It don’t feel too good. It does not feel good for somebody to take something from you just like that,” Castellanos said.
But Castellanos had video from home security cameras, and he posted it on Facebook.
In a few days, it was shared 2,500 times, and then a police detective called.
“The police seen some of it. They got interested. I got a call. I met up with them, showed them the video. They said they knew the guy," he said.
The video shows a man simply walk up to the truck, open the door and remove the cash bag from the console.
A Houston police detective recognized Elder from previous arrests. Elder was charged in the case last Friday. He was already facing two similar charges.
The day before, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault stemming from another auto burglary case in June 2014, in which he had attempted to drive over a woman who was trying to stop him. He’s sentenced to serve two years in state prison.