Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Serial burglary suspects caught on camera

See it on TV? Check here. HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A series of home break-ins in west Houston and Memorial Villages have police on alert. But now they have an important clue. Some of the crooks have been caught on surveillance cameras.

Home burglaries are typically one of the hardest types of crimes to solve. In addition to dusting for fingerprints, investigators in this case swabbed certain things inside the house that the suspects might have touched in hopes of having their DNA analyzed.

Just before Christmas, two men were caught on camera burglarizing a home in the Memorial Villages neighborhood before making a quick getaway. The homeowner who sent us surveillance photos wanted to remain anonymous but told us the thieves made off with his family's entire collection of expensive jewelry.

Memorial Villages police are now investigating.

"We haven't really been able to establish a pattern at this time but we're working with some other area agencies in and around Harris and Fort Bend counties to see if there's similarities in some other cases that we've been made aware of," Memorial Villages Police Department Sgt. Kyle Sission said.

The two cases reported in the villages over the past few weeks are remarkably similar to the MO used by thieves who've committed a string of burglaries over the past several months in surrounding commununities such as Tanglewood, Bellaire and West University Place.

"We've actually been pretty successful here as of late in our investigations; however, they still continue and it's something that we try to keep on top of," West University Police Department Capt. Thad Olive said.

What's more is it seems the thieves who are targeting these well-to-do communities are no longer deterred by state-of-the-art home alarms or fancy security surveillance systems. The home in Memorial Villages had both. They were in and out in a matter of minutes.

"I guess they feel it's better pickings in the upscale neighborhoods. There might be more things that they can quickly sell," resident Helga Amengual said.

The investigation is ongoing. So far, no arrests have been made.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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