Police link case to social media account, leading to felony arrest
BOERNE — Kendall County authorities wrote “The End” to a real-life “Fast and Furious” caper after using social media to track a brazen teen motorist who led police on high-speed chases and taunted them.
At least one incident with the masked driver involved speeds clocked at 142 mph.
Prosecutors said Timothy Vitaliy Fogel, 19, of San Antonio finally hit a dead end in Judge Kirsten Cohoon’s 451st state District Court this week after pleading guilty to two counts of felony evading arrest in a motor vehicle and one count of reckless driving.
According to police, he had faced up to nine charges including deadly conduct.
As a first-time offender, however, the court considered his lack of prior criminal history during sentencing.
Though assessed 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, he was handed a six-year probated sentence under the supervision of the Kendall County Adult Probation Department.
Cohoon ordered Fogel to reimburse his parents for the full cost of his legal fees and to write them a personal apology letter, as well as issue another apology to the law enforcement community.
Assistant Criminal District Attorney Andrew Fields prosecuted the case.
Cracking the case
According to prosecutors, digital analysis and social-media forensics helped a team of law enforcement officials bring charges against the teen, whom they said flaunted his high-speed chases and reckless driving in the Boerne area with social-media insults aimed at police.
The case picked up speed after Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Parker Wilson monitored Instagram and discovered a series of social-media videos depicting a black BMW performing dangerous maneuvers and referencing encounters with police in Boerne and Kendall County.
The videos, later linked to Fogel according to court documents, launched a joint investigation by the District Attorney’s Office and the Boerne Police Department.
District Attorney’s Office crime analyst investigator Kristal Reser and Detective James Vela used digital and intelligence analysis to identify, track and connect multiple reckless- driving incidents, officials said.
By combining open-source intelligence, social-media forensics and traffic data, they built a unified timeline of the errant driver’s conduct, investigators said.
The investigation revealed the Instagram account “@slow530i” contained dash camera and cellphone videos of a black BMW sedan in high-speed evasions, reckless driving and taunting law enforcement — activity often described in illicit street-racing communities as “roll racing” or “swimming,” prosecutors said.
Records from Instagram and T-Mobile confirmed a suspect’s email address, phone number, date of birth and home IP address.
Clashes with cops
According to a narrative in police reports and court records, the first confirmed encounter occurred April 30 when Boerne Officer Eric DeLaRosa noticed a black BMW sedan without license plates stopped directly behind his patrol car on the I-10 West frontage road.
When DeLaRosa turned to investigate, the masked driver made an obscene gesture and sped away, triggering a pursuit into Bexar County before being terminated for safety reasons.
The vehicle and the driver matched details later shown in a video captioned “he tried but failed (AI FAKE FOOTAGE),” posted on the “@slow530i” Instagram account. On May 10, two city police officers out on a traffic stop on I-10 East saw the same black BMW perform two consecutive “fly-bys,” passing within feet of the officers and two bystanders at more than 100 mph.
A video posted on the “@ slow530i” account titled “Little fly by for the cops (AI FAKE FOOTAGE)” matched the dash-camera footage, displaying a speedometer reading of 142 mph and showing the driver failing to move over or slow down for emergency vehicles.
The vehicle matched the auto documented by police dashcam recordings.
On May 30, Kendall County sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Dudley was working a crash scene on I-10 West when the same black BMW sped past his marked patrol unit at 110 mph, endangering several people, the court heard.
Police Sgt. Pedro Moncada attempted to intercept the vehicle, reaching 118 mph in pursuit before the chase was terminated at the Bexar County line.
The following day, a video labeled “sheriffs don’t do nothing again (AI FAKE FOOTAGE)” appeared on “@slow530i,” showing the same sequence of flashing patrol lights, sirens and speeds exceeding 130 mph.
Investigators identified a second clip titled “Part 2 of outrunning the sheriff (AI FAKE FOOTAGE),” depicting the black BMW vehicle accelerating beyond 115 mph while emergency lights flashed in the distance.
Video captured voices inside the car saying, “Where’d he come from?” as well as “Tim, he’s coming up quick, bro,” and “Tim, hurry up.”
On June 22, the driver again fled police after being recognized by DeLaRosa on Main Street while driving without license plates. When DeLaRosa activated his lights, the auto accelerated to over 100 mph on Main Street, weaving through traffic, driving on the wrong side of the road and nearly colliding with another police vehicle.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Marshall Hefley’s radar clocked the vehicle at 123 mph. Boerne police attempted to use spikes in the road to stop the car but were unsuccessful.
Hefley continued to pursue the vehicle before stopping at the Bexar County line.
A social-media post from that night read, “Boerne pd y’all slow ... 20 or more cops still fail,” “Boerne and Kendall y’all slow brought y’alls whole pd out and still failed and y’all suck (expletive) at spiking” and “Better luck next time Boerne pd y’all slow asf 20 plus cops and still fail.”
Cornered
Using surveillance video, Reser determined the vehicle, after evading law enforcement on June 22, returned to a San Antonio residence. The footage helped identify the driver as well as his clothing seen in the dashcam video from DeLaRosa’s patrol unit.
On July 4, DeLaRosa again spotted two BMWs matching those seen in prior incidents parked outside a Boerne convenience store. One of the drivers — identified in court records as Fogel — appeared nervous and avoided eye contact when questioned.
Officers noted that the vehicle’s interior lighting, trim, and accessories matched the “@ slow530i” videos.
A subsequent traffic stop revealed multiple GoPro camera mounts, a police radar scanner and a novelty plate reading “WILLRUN,” identical to one displayed in the Instagram content.
Facing the music
Fogel’s probation includes six months of GPS ankle monitoring to track his driving speed and location, a drug and alcohol evaluation with mandatory random testing, a $1,500 fine and 120 hours of community service.
The teen is also required to complete a defensive driving course and allow probation officers access to his cellphone data and social-media accounts.
If Fogel violates the conditions of his probation, he heads to prison for 10 years.
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