City Councilman's Car Stolen As He Put Up Campaign Signs

Councilman Don Zimmerman’s campaign efforts were put on hold on Friday night when accused vehicle thief, Montrel Rogers, 26, stole Zimmerman’s car as the councilman put up campaign signs before driving to his girlfriend’s house to kill her cat.

According to an affidavit, the car was parked on the shoulder of the road, unlocked and running with keys in the ignition at about 11 p.m. Zimmerman told police his vehicle had been taken while he was putting up campaign signs near the 1800 block of E SH 71. He told police he left his car running while he walked short distance away from his car to put up a sign. When he turned back around, his car was gone.

As Zimmerman was giving his account of the events to police, the officer was notified on the radio that the vehicle they thought was Zimmerman’s had been found in the 1100 block of Terry Drive in East Austin, according to the affidavit.

Rogers’ girlfriend, Crystal Acosta, called police when she noticed he arrived at her house in a car that didn’t belong to him, according to the affidavit. The woman told officers that Rogers, who police described as appearing to be “mentally unstable”, had been calling her all day from the Austin airport “rambling about wanting to kill people and asking her to pick him up,” according to the affidavit.

When Rogers showed up to Acosta’s apartment in an effort to get her to come back to the airport with him, she called police because she was afraid he would hurt her. As the two began to argue, Rogers picked up her cat and slammed it onto the ground several times. Acosta believes Rogers’ killed and disposed of the cat prior to the officer arriving on the scene.

When police arrived at the home, they were able to place Rogers in custody and question him about the vehicle theft. According to Rogers, when he approached the Zimmerman’s car, Zimmerman gave him the thumbs up sign, indicating it was okay for him to take the car.

Rogers has been charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and was given a bond of $12,000.