From the Desk of Chief Ray Schultz,
Well, it did not take long before my warning from last
week’s V-LINC report became a reality.
On Monday morning at about 0645 a bicyclist riding up Blalock on the
sidewalk (without a light) was crossing the side streets without looking or
yielding to vehicles exiting cross streets when he was hit by a delivery
driver. The cyclist suffered leg injuries and was transported to Memorial
Hermann Hospital for treatment. This is confirmation of how dangerous it can be
during low light hours to see walkers, runners, or bicyclists. It is also a
reminder for cyclists to not just ride the sidewalks and not be on the lookout
for vehicles exiting neighborhoods, driveways, or cross streets. There are dual
responsibilities in play here. Drivers need to double check not just the street
for traffic but sidewalks as well. And cyclists need to check side streets, driveways,
and pedestrian paths before just darting across them. Cyclists should have a
light and reflectors on their bike and runners a light (or flasher) present with
them when walking so everyone can properly see each other. Reflective clothing
also goes a long way in helping increase visibility. Please use this example of
just how dangerous it can be and be on special alert for school children who
are also out early going to school or waiting on buses.
On Saturday morning, Team MVPD participated in the
2023 “Walk Like MADD” Event in Jersey Village. Our team braved the warm morning and joined
hundreds of other first responders, victims, and survivors in raising funds to
help support MADD. Great job by MVPD employees in supporting the community and
in keeping the dangers of drunk driving at the forefront.
This week we had another case of fraud where a
resident received a call stating that an adult child had been arrested and
charged with a crime. The resident was told the son needed assistance in
posting bail and asked if they could help. A spoofed phone number showed/verified
the call had come from the Harris County Jail. The resident went and made a withdrawal
of funds and awaited further instructions. A short time later they received
instructions that a courier would be picking up the funds at the home. Minutes
later a courier appeared, collected the funds, and left. Later the victim was
able to contact the son and learned it was a scam. MVPD detectives were
contacted and were able to utilize the ALPR system to identify the courier who
was found to work for a delivery service. The courier had picked up the unknown envelope
(with cash) and delivered it to a subject in a parking lot in SW Houston. Detectives were able to verify that there are
numerous delivery service providers who perform this type of service for a fee
of picking up unknown envelopes/packages and delivering them to anyone/anywhere.
In this case, the driver did not know that he was participating in a
crime. Detectives investigating the
incident found that a fraudulent account had been created to arrange for the pickup
and delivery of the “bond” monies using other fake IDs and fraudulent credit
card information.
The (greedy) suspects called back the next day and
said that they needed more money to post the proper bond. MVPD detectives had already been working with
our victim, who then made arrangements to give them more funds. Surveillance was
set up on the area just in case the suspects were monitoring the home and sure
enough, the suspects showed up and set up surveillance on the victim’s house as
they initiated a different third-party courier to come and retrieve the money. During
this time, the suspects became spooked and called off the transaction, and
attempted to leave the area, but once again we prevailed as we already had them
under our surveillance. As they
attempted to leave, we stopped them as they drove away. Of course, as all good criminals would, they denied
any involvement and said they were just in the area looking for a friend’s
house. It did not take too much detective
work to link calls from the suspect’s cell phone to our victim’s phone and to
the courier(s). With that, that was all
we needed to get the DA’ s Office to accept charges of theft against the
elderly for their crime. Even more interesting was the shirt the suspect was wearing
as we had him step out of the vehicle. (I am attaching a picture of him in that
shirt taken at our jail). Great work by
our officers, detectives, and our victim/resident in getting these suspects
caught and introduced to the Harris County Jail. (Note: our suspect in the t-shirt was also
wearing a jail ankle bracelet!) Great Work MVPD.
Truck or Treat is returning to the MVPD with a Haunted
House out behind the station. On Saturday, October 28th, 2023, from 6:00pm
to 9:00 pm. The back lot of the MVPD will be turned into a haunted house and a fake
crime scene. Come by the station and Trunk or Treat, at some of our police cars
and then enter the “Danger
Zone” if you dare. All Zombies are welcome to attend. Note:
We need some volunteers to help man our Trunk or Treat posts for this event. We
could use about 10 volunteers who want to decorate their vehicles and pass out
treats, etc… If you can help, please
contact Ms. Priscilla Gonzalez at pgonzalez@mvpdtx.org We will award prizes to the best decorated
vehicles.
Next week is National Night Out. Tuesday, October 3,
2023, in the early evening, neighbors across the Houston area will be
celebrating National Night Out. If you are hosting an event and would like
someone from the department to stop by, don’t forget to let Officer Larry
Boggus know so he can get you on the schedule and also enter your group into
our drawing. Contact Larry at lboggus@mvpdtx.org
This morning I had the honor to attend the graduation ceremonies
for Sergeant Lane Owens as he completed the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management
Institute of Texas (LEMIT) program in Huntsville. Sergeant Owens completed 9 weeks of advanced law
enforcement management training. Congratulations to Sergeant Owens for his
dedication to our department and to our community.
If you are out and about this weekend and at the
Farmers Market, look for Detective Salazar, who will be in the area meeting
residents and answering any questions you might have. Detective Salazar is our
newest detective who works on Saturdays as we continue our fight against crime.
Have a great weekend, Chief Ray Schultz rschultz@mvpdtx.org
Weekly
Crime Report
Vehicles towed due to being driven by an unlicensed
driver, while not being registered and uninsured.
9/25/23 at 1015 Hours. 200 Block of Voss. The vehicle
was stopped for displaying a fraudulent license plate. Through investigation it
was determined the driver did not have a driver’s license, the vehicle was not
registered and not insured. The male was placed under arrest and the vehicle
was towed.
9/25/23 at 1415 Hours. 100 Block of Quail Creek. The
vehicle was stopped for displaying an expired license plate (2/21). Through
investigation it was determined the driver did not have a drivers license, he
had an active warrant for his arrest and the vehicle was not registered and not
insured. The male was placed under arrest and the vehicle was towed.
9/28/23 at 0900 Hours. 300 Block of Voss. The vehicle
was stopped for displaying a fraudulent license plate. Through investigation it
was determined the driver did not have a driver’s license, the vehicle was not
registered and not insured. The male was placed under arrest and the vehicle
was towed.
Bunker Hill
9/23/23 at 1645 Hours. 11700 Block of Memorial Drive. Unauthorized
Use of a Vehicle. Officers were alerted
to a stolen vehicle entering the villages on Memorial Drive at Gessner. Officers were in the area and located the
vehicle traveling on Memorial Drive and initiated a traffic stop. The female
who was driving the stolen SUV admitted that she had stolen the vehicle that
had been left running at a gas station the day prior. The 21-year-old female
was booked into the Harris County Jail. The vehicle was recovered and towed.
Piney Point
9/24/23 at 1215 Hours. 2200 Block of Piney Point.
Recovered Stolen Vehicle. Officers were alerted to a stolen vehicle entering
the villages on Briar Forrest. Officers were already in the area and quickly
located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle was being driven
by the owner. She stated that she had reported the vehicle stolen the day prior
but had later learned that her car had been towed for being illegally parked.
She went to the tow yard to recover her vehicle but did not want to wait for
HPD to show up and remove the car from the stolen vehicle file. MVPD officers
had the vehicle status changed to unfounded/recovered and notified HPD. The
female was released.
9/26/23 at 2145 Hours. 11100 Block of Greenbay. Disturbance.
Officers were flagged down in reference to a possible disturbance occurring in
the parking lot involving multiple subjects.
Officers went to the area where they located a male laying near a vehicle.
The male was found to be experiencing a health emergency. EMS was called to
assist the 39-year-old male. Officers located a loaded handgun inside of the vehicle.
Additional subjects were not on the scene and were not located in the area. The
male was transported to Memorial Herman Hospital. The firearm was collected for
safekeeping and the vehicle was towed.
Hunters Creek
9/26/23 at 1400 Hours. 800 Block of Flint River.
Fraud. The victim was contacted by her
bank in reference to a suspicious check that was being presented at a bank to
be cashed. The bank provided her with a check number that was not in sequence. Shortly
afterward she received additional calls from banks asking about checks being
presented for cashing that were also suspicious, all were found to be
fraudulent. The bank stopped payment on all the checks and closed the account. Information
about the checks and the various banks was collected and presented to
detectives for their follow-up investigation.
9/26/23 at 1645 Hours. Fraud against the Elderly. The victim reported that he had received a
call from an unknown male that his son was in jail and needed assistance in
obtaining bail. The victim made
arrangements for the bail to be made.
The suspect had a courier arrive at the home and pick up the funds. A short time later the victim was able to
contact his son and learned that the call had been a fraud. Information about the incident and courier
was obtained and provided to detectives who had taken over the investigation. The
next day a second call was received from the same suspect. The victim agreed to work with MVPD
detectives which lead to the arrest of 2 suspects. See above for more details.
