UT Tyler Police Say Man Charged With Stalking Planned to ‘Cause Harm’

By NOAH TEW/Editor in Chief

A 19-year-old man from Missouri City was booked into the Smith County Jail on April 21 and charged with stalking someone at University Pines.

University Police Chief Mike Medders stated in an email, “Today, our officers apprehended the suspects in this case who we believe to have had malicious motivations for being on our campus.”

Isac Salas is held on a $75,000 bond in the Smith County Jail. He was taken into custody by university police. On April 14, someone at University Pines feared that they were being stalked and reported it to university police.

”A license plate was obtained, and we were able to enter it into our license plate recognition system.  Yesterday at 1:15 pm, we were alerted by the system to the vehicle entering into the University Pines Apartment complex. We stopped the vehicle as it was exiting the apartment complex and detained two individuals, Salas and the female suspect from last week,” Medders said.

Police questioned the people in the car.

“Based upon information obtained during the interviews of each suspect, and subsequent evidence that was recovered from the vehicle, we have reason to believe that Salas was here to potentially cause harm to our victim,” Medders said.

After interviewing the two suspects, only Salas was charged.

“Thanks to the witness coming forward in a timely manner, the dedication of our police force, and the operation of our license plate recognition software, we were able to safely mitigate this risk to our campus community,” Medders said.

Medders says students should always report suspicious activity.

“ We encourage everyone to familiarize yourself with the emergency telephones located in parking lots and throughout campus. These can also be used to report emergencies or suspicious persons or incidents directly to the UT Tyler Police Department. Other reporting mechanisms include in-person reporting at 3410 Varsity Drive and anonymous reporting through our Silent Witness program at https://www.uttyler.edu/police/forms/silentwitness.htm,” Medders said.

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