From the
Desk of Chief Ray Schultz,
It has been
another cold and rainy week here in the villages. This weekend there should be
a break in the weather and some sun to help dry things out. Last Sunday our
heavy rain with the heavy leaf drop caused a few minor issues with blocked
grates and drains and some localized flooding. The hard freeze that we had at Christmas
has caused quite a few leaves to drop over the past several weeks and now with
our early spring rains we are seeing leaves, needles and branches piling up in
ditches, on grates and near culverts. Please ask your lawn crews to clean up
the debris and include ditches. We want to get ahead of this before the next
storms and to avoid any preventable flooding. Thank you
This week
MVPD Officers Boggus and Vasquez attended events at Bunker Hill Elementary and
at Kincaid. The BHE student health fair was attended by over 700 students and
parents, while Kincaid hosted a seminar for 10th grade parents and students
as they prepare to get their drivers licenses. Officers Boggus and Vasquez
fielded questions from students and parents at both events and had a great time
participating in the activities at BHE, and speaking about the dangers that new
drivers face as they enter the commuting community.
Engaging
with the community is one of the functions that all of us here at the MVPD
enjoy participating in. Last fall we co-hosted a training session with the FBI
on how to respond in the event of an active shooter. That limited session had
to be closed when we hit 100 participants and many of you asked when would
another opportunity be available? The good
news is the FBI has agreed to hold another training session for the community
and this one will be on a Saturday so more residents can participate. As soon as
the details are ironed out, we will let you know the exact date, time, and
location. We are hoping for a Saturday in March that will be in conjunction
with the Farmers Market times. Details
to come soon.
Also, please
don’t forget to put the next MVPD Food Truck Rodeo on your calendar for
Saturday April 1, 2023. Our old favorites will be back along with some new
ones. More to come on this event.
On Wednesday
evening I had the opportunity to visit with residents of Bunker Hill at a City
Hall open house. Community safety was just one of many topics of discussion. One
of the frequent questions was what crimes are we seeing the most in the
Villages? Unfortunately, the answer does not change much, month to month. We
continue to see burglaries from motor vehicles (primarily unlocked) and mail
theft with the washing of checks as our biggest concern. The car burglaries are
targeting more of our area contractors as of late during the day and unlocked
parked cars during the night. Most of these can be avoided if the doors are
just locked with valuables being removed or hidden from sight. The stolen mail is a larger problem as we see
mail stolen (outgoing) from home mailboxes and US Post Office mailboxes. A good
way to help limit yourself from being a victim of this particular crime is to
use electronic bill payment options such as paying on-line or auto payment. We
continue to follow up on these types of crimes requesting videos from financial
institutions of suspects and following up on all leads. When we do identify a
suspect, many of the cases are consolidated with other cases involving the suspect
and a plea agreement entered. Unfortunately, these types of crimes are not
going away. Hopefully, the legislature will address this issue and take these
crimes more seriously as they have extremely long-lasting effects on the victim’s
credit, as these are NOT “victimless” crimes.
Don’t forget
the Ferrari Club of Houston will hold their annual Groundhog Day Gathering and
Drive this Sunday. There will be an impromptu car show here at the MVPD from
830 am – 930 am. The group will then cruise through the community as they leave
for their extended ride.
The lobby of
the MVPD currently has only limited access as we are undergoing major renovations
in our dispatch center. Last year the board of police commissioners and city
councils approved funding for the replacement of end-of life radio equipment.
During the renovation we have moved dispatch operations upstairs to our
conference room. The lobby is still open; however, visitors will need to pick
up the phone in the lobby to speak with on-duty personnel. There are also
cameras that record 24/7 so child exchanges can continue. The only difference being
children cannot be left alone. Please remain with children until the exchange is
completed. We are excited about the equipment upgrades and the ability to improve
our service levels to the community.
Have a great
weekend. Chief Ray Schultz rschutz@mvpdtx.org
Weekly Crime Report
Piney
Point
1/27/23 at
1445 Hours. 300 Block of Piney Point. Mail Theft/Fraud. The victim reported
that she received a call from a check cashing business about a check she had
written that appeared to have been altered. The information provided did not
coincide with the name of the original person to whom the check had been
written out to. The victim then contacted her bank and found that the check was
indeed changed. She had mailed the letter from her home mailbox in December.
Both the name and amount had been altered. Information about the check, the
check cashing business and her bank was collected and provided to detectives
for their follow up investigation.
1/28/23 at
1030 Hours. 2200 Block of Piney Point. Unlawful Use of a Stolen Motor
Vehicle/Fugitive from Justice. Officers were alerted to a stolen vehicle
entering the villages. Officers were nearby and quickly located the vehicle and
initialed a traffic stop. The female had exited the vehicle and entered a
nearby business. Officers made contact with the female who produced a fake ID.
Officers were able to contact the real person who stated that her ID had been
stolen and was being used by an unknown female. Officers were able to identify
the female and learned the female was found to have 2 outstanding warrants for
arrest, one of which was for unlawful use of a stolen motor vehicle. The BMW
the suspect was driving was confirmed as stolen. The 29-year-old female was
booked into the Harris County Jail and the vehicle was recovered.
1/29/23 at
1645 Hours. 300 Block of Tynebridge Ln. Theft. The victim reported that he was
recently informed that a check he had mailed last year had been washed and
cashed by an unknown person. The check
had been stolen from the payee’s office (Houston) when their business mailbox
was broken into. Information about the
check and cashing bank was collected and provided to detectives for their follow
up investigation.
Hunters
Creek
1/30/23 at
1030 Hours. 600 Block of Shartle Circle. Identity Theft. The victim reported
that he received information that he had an overdue account in collections. The
victim was the victim of an identity theft case in 2021 and had placed a hold
on his credit so he was surprised to learn of the unauthorized activity. A
check on credit report showed the outstanding charge to be the rental of a
home. The victim could not obtain additional information without a police
report. Information was collected and provided to detectives who will be
following up on the investigation to learn the location of the rental home.
1/31/23 at
1045 Hours. 1000 Block of River Bend. Theft. The victim reported that while
away from his home on 1/29/23 he received notice from his video doorbell of
activity near his front door. A review of the video showed a male suspect
wearing shorts remove a package from his porch. A check of his purchase showed
that a package had been delivered earlier. A check of the area ALPR located a suspect’s vehicle.
A review of license plate data showed it as a cancelled plate, as the vehicle had
been sold but with the license plates still attached to the vehicle. Detectives
have taken over the investigation.
1/31/23 at
1615 Hours. 10700 Block of Old Coach. Fraud. The victim reported that she had
received notice of a check that she had written had been intercepted from the
US Mail, washed and reissued to a person whom she does not know. The bank did not cash the check. The
information about the check and bank was collected and provided to detectives
for their follow up investigation.
