Horseshoe Bay Police Department

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

A death, ruled a suicide, outside of a Horseshoe Bay pharmacy, has prompted support from the community for the owner and staff of the local business.

“We are still working with the police to determine what the suspect's motive was to choose our location for his actions,” Bay Pharmacy Owner Jason Pool said. “We have received overwhelming support from the community as this is a difficult time for us.”

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Authorities are searching for suspected ATM machine thieves, who stole 10s of thousands of dollars in cash using “cloned” gift cards in a two-night period at the same Horseshoe Bay bank, according to the police report.

“We found out that it happened two nights in a row,” Horseshoe Bay Police Chief Rocky Wardlow said. “We have a vehicle description. There's more than one of them.”

The case unfolded around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 9., as an officer drove past the First Capital Bank of Texas, in the 6900 block of Ranch Road 2147.

“He saw a vehicle at the ATM there at bank. He went back to check it,” Wardlow said. “He didn't have probable cause to stop them but followed them.”

The officer reported the vehicle left the city and headed east on Texas 71.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The inquest into the October death of Sherry Kay Lesley, founder of GG Ganache in Marble Falls, has been closed with a finding of “accidental drowning,” according to a press release late Thursday, March 8, from Horseshoe Bay Chief of Police Rocky Wardlow.

Autopsies are frequent in cases of unattended deaths, and the HSBPD investigation had to remain open, pending a final determination by the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office. That finding was “death by accidental drowning” and Wardlow said his department had found nothing to contradict it.

Lesley's husband Kent discovered her body in a bathtub in their home at 288 La Serena Loop on Oct. 22 last year. The HSBPD responded to his 9-1-1 call at 7:15 a.m.

According to a statement from the chief later in the investigation, the couple had attended a social function together on Saturday night, Oct. 21.

The Horseshoe Bay Police Department has arrested four former Horseshoe Bay Resort employees connected to a theft ring that targeted the Resort Food and Beverage Department.

Police were contacted by resort executives after an internal audit revealed funds began missing from sales receipts in the Yacht Club Restaurant February of 2017. The resulting audit estimated that more than $22,000 was stolen from February -September of 2017.

By Richard Zowie

The Highlander

Some make visits out to Los Angeles, California to try to make it in show business. Others go because they want to visit the Pacific Ocean or go to Disneyland.

David Vaughn, a police officer with the Horseshoe Bay Police Department, went to fulfill a longtime dream of competing on the television game show “Wheel of Fortune.”

“I started watching it when I was about seven,” said Vaughn, who worked as a police officer in Houston prior to moving to the Hill Country. “I’ve always been a fan of the show and liked trying to figure out puzzles. They reminded me of the Hangman kind of games we’d play as kids. People would come over and watch with me and tell me I was good and should try to get on.”

Vaughn spent five years filling out forms online and even submitted an audition tape two years ago.

Horseshoe Bay Police Chief Rocky Wardlow has issued a report of an arrest of a suspect with 28 grams of cocaine and more than one pound of marijuana in his possession.

Shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, April 30, a Horseshoe Bay police officer stopped a vehicle on Ranch to Market Road 2147 for a minor traffic violation. The officer determined through the Texas Department of Public Safety that the driver, James Walker, age 34, of Marble Falls was driving with an invalid license. Walker was arrested for that offense.

As officers began an inventory of the vehicle, they noticed a strong odor of marijuana. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, the officer discovered 28 grams of cocaine and more than one pound of marijuana.