One person in custody after several break-ins of southwest Houston Shell station

Houston police are on the hunt for two men who broke into a southwest Houston Shell station early Wednesday. (Metro Video) Houston police are on the hunt for two men who broke into a southwest Houston Shell station early Wednesday. (Metro Video) Photo: Metro Video Photo: Metro Video Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close One person in custody after several break-ins of southwest Houston Shell station 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

One man is in custody and two others are on the run after trying to break into a Shell station early Wednesday in southwest Houston.

A police officer spotted the trio about 3 a.m., from a police cruiser parked across the street, said Lt. Larry Crowson with the Houston Police Department.

They were clad in black and were walking up to the front of a Shell station in the 13100 block of South Post Oak.

The same Shell station had been broken into several times in the past few weeks, so the officer was watching the business, Crowson said.

The men took out a sledgehammer and used it to try to break down the door - similar to what had been done in the other robberies, Crowson said.

But this time, the men failed to make a dent in the door. The owner had swapped out the glass with plexiglass that wouldn't break as easily.

As the men struggled, the officer approached them. This prompted the trio to hop a fence across the street into a field, Crowson said.

HPD deployed a helicopter and dogs in an attempt to nab the men. One man was arrested after a search dog found him hiding in a nearby dumpster. Police also found a backpack with a pistol inside.

No one appears to have been injured during the chase.

The other two men were still at large Wednesday morning, Crowson said.

A description of the two men was not immediately available.