POLICE THWART WEEKEND BURGLARY; URGE HOLIDAY CAUTION

  

Brenham police officers thwarted a burglary in progress on Thanksgiving morning, and responded to several other similar calls over the holiday weekend. The department had increased patrols over the holidays, anticipating a possible spike in crime.

“We increased our patrols, had our downtown bike patrol out and increased our checks of businesses at night and in the early morning hours. As a result, we were able to thwart an attempted burglary at a local business,” Chief Rex Phelps said.

“We know that over the holidays, with more people gone and businesses being closed, this increases the change for crime. We are determined to prevent that from happening as often as possible. We believe that our community and our police department can work together to prevent crime. Prior to the Thanksgiving holidays, we placed a Holiday Home Security Checklist on our website and the police department’s Facebook page; I think it garnered the response for which we were looking,” he said.

Officers responded to several attempted burglaries over the holiday including one at Brenham Wholesale on Nov. 27 at 3 a.m. Sgt. Jason Derrick was patrolling the area when he noticed suspicious activity on the property. Derrick said he noticed two males running on the loading docks; the suspects ran in opposite directions as he approached. Derrick found a section of the fence that appeared to be cut as other officers arrived.

“We were able to determine that no entry had been made into the building. We also impounded a vehicle that appeared to have been used by the suspects. A subsequent investigation leads officers to believe the suspects were from the Houston area. Officers responded to several other attempted burglaries over the weekend, with nothing reported missing from any of the businesses.

“We believe the suspects in each of the attempted burglaries are possibly the same ones from the Houston area. We also believe the added police visibility and patrols may have prevented the suspects from getting away with stolen property in these attempted crimes. This investigation is ongoing. If anyone saw anything that looks suspicious or out of place, do not hesitate to call us at 979-337-7272; we will quickly respond to investigate.

“We will also continue to increase patrols and visibility as we approach the Christmas and New Year holidays,” Phelps said.

“I am proud of how hard our officers and department work to prevent and investigate crime. Although they can’t control and stop all bad things from happening, they work hard to ensure that is not the norm for our community.”

(Story courtesy: Angela Hahn, Brenham Police Department)