http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article209776074.html
Theodis Daniel didn't have much of a choice when his 18-year-old son, Christian, made a jaw-dropping claim during a recent Facetime conversation.
"He was on a road to self-destruction," Daniel told KEYE.
"I decided to put my foot down," he said in an interview with KVUE.
Daniel told the station his son had just gotten out of jail in January, but that didn't stop Christian from bragging to his father about breaking into 250 cars, including the car of an off-duty Houston police officer, where he said he grabbed the officer's service weapon and other police equipment.
So on April 16, Daniel made one of the toughest decisions a father might ever have to make. He called 911 to report his own son.
"I love him," Daniel told KHOU. "But he's got to wake up from wherever he's at right now."
Possessing a firearm was against the terms of Christian's probation. After Daniel, who lives in Houston, told police what his son told him — that he targeted running trails and popular jogging spots, smashing car windows, one after another with a stolen police tool — Austin police searched Christian's South Austin apartment on April 17.
KVUE reported that police found several guns in the apartment, as well as several ammunition magazines, a gas mask and the bag of police gear that belongs to the off-duty Houston police officer. Christian was arrested and charged with theft of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to KTRK.
Daniel said his son was proud of his recent haul when the two talked, that he treated the police officer's gun like a "trophy," according to KEYE. KTRK reported that Christian even bragged about the string of thefts, showing off five or six other guns he'd stolen from the cars.
"Pretty hard for me to do," Daniel told KEYE. "This is Texas. If you break into someone's car, they will handle you. I didn't need someone shooting my son. I didn't need my son shooting him, or going on a high-speed chase, killing himself or other people."
Christian remained in Travis County jail Wednesday with bond set at $20,000, according to jail records.
Austin police have not confirmed the exact number of burglary cases in which the 18-year-old may be a suspect, but KVUE reported that it was "several," according to an arrest warrant affidavit.