A vehicle burglary outside a busy Mueller coffee stop has turned into a public hunt for a suspected credit-card user, as Austin police say a woman tried — and failed — to run stolen cards at a nearby Walgreens after a laptop haul was taken from a car.

Investigators say the case began around 8 a.m. Feb. 3 at the Starbucks at 1801 E. 51st Street, where a victim returned to find credit cards, a MacBook and a work laptop stolen from a vehicle. Austin police are now asking for help identifying the woman they believe tried to use the cards minutes or hours later.

What police say happened

According to Austin police, the suspect attempted to use the stolen credit cards at the Walgreens at 5345 N. I-35, but the transactions were declined.

Police described the suspect as a white female, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and roughly 160 pounds, with a heavy build. Authorities say she was driving a white Ford Expedition, possibly a 2020–2023 model.

In cases like these, the details matter: a vehicle description can help narrow down surveillance footage along common travel routes, while a failed card transaction often produces a timestamp that investigators can match to store video.

A common crime in a changing citywide picture

The burglary underscores a persistent reality in Austin: even as citywide indicators show improvement, opportunistic property crimes can still hit in broad daylight at everyday places — coffee shops, grocery stores and pharmacies.

Austin police have reported that violent crimes and overall property crimes declined in 2025, crediting a combination of staffing gains, faster response times and closer collaboration across units, as reported by KUT News. In that same reporting, Assistant Chief Angie Jones praised the department’s investigative resources, saying, "We have a really strong team there. They're very thorough and they do a phenomenal job," as reported by KUT News.

Jones also emphasized the importance of quick arrival when a call comes in: "When we get a cop on scene quickly ... the solvability rate goes up significantly," she said, as reported by KUT News.

That citywide push to improve response and follow-through is often discussed in the context of major crimes, but it also affects “smaller” cases — including vehicle burglaries that can quickly spiral into identity theft, workplace disruption and longer-term financial headaches.

Investigative bandwidth — and what it means for follow-up

While this case is rooted in property crime, it lands in a broader policing environment where investigators say caseload pressure can shape how quickly leads get chased.

In a separate look at homicide trends, Austin Police Sgt. Nathan Sexton, a homicide sergeant, described the toll of past workload levels on detectives: "I think people were kinda getting burnt out just from the sheer volume that we had. It was overwhelming and it's very hard to have a work-life balance when there are so many murders in the city," Sexton said in an interview reported by FOX 7 Austin.

Sexton also noted that many of Austin’s most serious crimes are not random, saying, "Typically, it's either a drug deal gone bad or a domestic issue or in some way the suspect knew the victim, the boyfriend killing the ex-boyfriend or something of that nature, so there are typically some sort of tie to the other person," as reported by FOX 7 Austin.

The dynamic differs in property-crime cases like the Mueller burglary, where victims often don’t know the suspect. That can make surveillance video, license-plate recognition tools and tips from the public especially important.

Prevention efforts and public vigilance

Community leaders and advocates have argued that improvements in public safety are not only about arrests and staffing, but also about prevention — particularly where gun violence is concerned. Local reporting has credited community violence intervention programs and federal funding with helping drive recent declines in firearm violence and homicides, according to Austin Current.

Those initiatives target a different category of crime than a smash-and-grab or vehicle break-in, but they point to a larger theme shaping Austin’s public-safety debate: residents want both immediate enforcement and longer-term strategies that reduce victimization.

For Mueller residents and nearby shoppers, police are focused on the immediate question of who committed this burglary and attempted card use — and whether anyone saw the suspect, the SUV, or suspicious activity outside the Starbucks that morning.

Authorities asked that anyone with information submit anonymous tips to the Capital Area Crime Stoppers program or call 512-472-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for information leading to an arrest.

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