We made it through our first week, post “The Great Winter Storm of 2021”. There have been a few additional cases of broken pipes but for the most part the breaking part is over. Unfortunately, the recovery part is going to take quite a while. I also think we will discover some additional damage as sprinkler systems are recharged along with pool pumps and filters being brought back on-line.

I know many of us are keeping our fingers crossed as we closely watch our landscaping. Many bushes and trees are dropping leaves and are browning.  The good news is most of the browning is from the leaves having frost bite or frost burned. Many of the trees and bushes should come back, albeit they may need a good pruning. Tropical plants and annuals unfortunately may not make it. It might be too early to know yet for sure, so it is probably best to continue to closely watch plants and trees before tearing them out.

This week we have seen an increase in solicitors in the area trying to take advantage of the situation. We continue to contact any solicitor(s) and inform them of the registration and licensing process and about our no soliciting ordinance. About 80% of the homes are currently on the No Soliciting List. And due to the COVID-19 concerns, we have not even seen any applications for Soliciting. Please notify us should any solicitors come to your home and we will investigate and educate them on the ordinance. Call us at 713-365-3700.

This past Tuesday was Officer Lerma’s last day with the Memorial Villages Police Department. Frank retired for the second time (his first retirement was from HPD). At Franks last official duty assignment, he finished the evening working the Hunters Creek City Council meeting. Mayor Pappas gave Frank an official village proclamation and declared Tuesday February 23, 2021 as Officer Frank Lerma Day. Over the past 7 years, Frank was the departments Community Services Officer. As part of Frank’s duties, he welcomed hundreds of new residents to the Villages, conducted hundreds of home security surveys and helped mediate dozens of neighborhood disputes and disagreements. Franks calm demeanor helped provide direction towards an equitable resolution for most of the issues.

Besides the many “other duties as assigned” assignments, Frank has also been the President of the Memorial Villages Police Foundation for the past several years. Frank helped build the Foundation and contributed to several department philanthropic projects such as organizing 2 trips with supplies and monetary donations to first responders in Louisiana who had suffered losses due to hurricanes. Frank was also the emcee for our annual Christmas Party and other department get-togethers. His quick wit and sense of humor kept everyone on their toes. We all wish Frank the best of luck in the next chapter of his life.

With Frank leaving us, that created an opening for a new Community Relations Officer. We conducted a selection process, and I am proud to announce that Officer Larry Boggus was ultimately selected to take Franks place.  Officer Boggus has been with the department for 6 years coming from the Metro Police Department. Larry has worked patrol his entire tenure with the MVPD. Larry is always present at all department functions and he is also our head pilot and coordinator for our Drone Program.  Larry is looking forward to his new assignment.

He is available to conduct home security survey’s, help with V-linc email accounts, or the mobile app, or anything else. Larry has been working on the area homeless camps and coordination of services with the City of Houston. He will continue in that effort, to get that population connected to services and hopefully into a shelter and/or program.  

Birdies Fore Blues – Just as a reminder for everyone who signed up for the “Birdies Fore Blues” Golf Tournament, that the rescheduled event is this Tuesday March 2, 2021. Golfers should plan on arriving at, the Clubs at Houston Oaks Golf Course at 11:30 am for registration, warm-up and a putting contest. Lunch will be provided at the Golf Carts at 12:30 pm and we will have a 1pm Shotgun Start.   Hunter and Harrison Lee have been working tirelessly on putting together a world-class golf tournament. The student athletes from Memorial High School are eager to play, as are our first responders.  We will let you know how everyone fared in next week’s V-Linc.

Mail Thieves – Unfortunately, there are mail thieves still active throughout the Houston area. We are still waiting on the Warrant for one of our most recent identified suspects.  Detectives are checking daily on the status of the arrest warrant on him. They have also identified a new female check washing suspect. It looks like they will be able to link her to 2 recent check washing cases. They have subpoenaed bank records that should be the final nail in that case and once again we will be obtaining a warrant for her arrest. Detectives are also making progress on a case where one of our residents stolen identity was used to obtain utility services for an apartment. The person who resides at the apartment has also been identified as a victim, as they were duped by this suspect. The good news is the walls are closing in as detectives have a good lead on our offender in that case. More to come.

Stolen Cars keep “trying” to pass through – For anyone keeping score, year-to-date we have recovered 14 stolen cars and trucks with a value in excess of $250,000. Read about the latest one below in the Weekly Crime Report.

And finally, a special Thank You to the resident who dropped off 2 extra-large Pizzas early this afternoon. This morning has been a little hectic, and your timing was perfect. The same for the other treats received this week, homemade cupcakes and the bag of beef jerky were enjoyed by all. 

Scam Alert: Maybe it is just me as I am always very suspicious but, I just returned from the shopping center at Bunker Hill and I-10 after picking up an item for the department. Standing in the parking lot was a male and female with a sign of how they had lost their job and have 3 kids. The male was playing an electric violin to music that was being played on a boom-box. Well, it so happened that last Sunday near my home when I went grocery shopping at the Kroger, there just happened to be a (different male and female) in the parking lot with a sign of how they had lost their job and had 2 kids. Again, the male was playing an electric violin to music coming from a boom box. At both locations I saw people stopping and/or walking up and giving them money. I have pretty strong suspicion that this is a scam. Oh, by the way, my wife and I gave the couple money last week? It may just be a coincidence but….. ?????

Have a great Weekend. Chief Ray Schultz rschultz@mvpdtx.org

Weekly Crime Report

Hunters Creek

2/19/21 at 1530 Hours. 500 Block of Pifer. Fraudulently Obtaining Unemployment Benefits. The victim reported that his employer had received notice of an application being filed on behalf of the victim for unemployment benefits. The victim is not unemployed. Information about the application was obtained and provided to detectives and the Texas Workforce Commission for their follow up investigations.

2/21/21 at 0900 Hours. 400 Block of Voss. Damage to Property.  The victim reported that while driving on Voss an electrical transformer exploded causing parts of the casing to fall striking and breaking the sunroof on his vehicle. Officers observed evidence present at the scene that collaborated the sequence of events. A report was taken. 

2/22/21 at 1045 Hours. 200 Block of Bryn Mawr. Fraud. The victim reported that she received notice from her bank of a new credit card being opened and her address being changed. The victim did not open a new account nor changed her address. The account was flagged and so far, no activity has been detected. Information was obtained and provided to detectives for their investigation.

Piney Point

2/21/21 at 2245 Hours. 400 Block of Blalock. Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle. Officers were alerted to a stolen vehicle entering the villages on South Piney Point Road. Officers were nearby and quickly located the vehicle traveling on Blalock Road and initiated a traffic stop. The suspect stated that she was borrowing the vehicle from her boyfriend. Through investigation, officers learned that the victim had met the unknown female suspect on-line and invited her to his home. He had fallen asleep and upon waking up, found his wallet and cell phone were gone and his vehicle to be missing. The victims credit card was found on the suspect.  The 26-year-old female was booked into the Harris County Jail. The vehicle was towed.

2/25/21 at 1145 Hours. 1-100 Block of Farnham Park. Fraudulently Obtaining Unemployment Benefits. The victim reported receiving notice of a fraudulent application for unemployment benefits using his personal identifiers. Information about the application was obtained and provided to detectives and the Texas Workforce Commission for their follow up investigations.

Bunker Hill

2/22/21 at 1700 Hours. 500 Block of Knipp. Burglary of a Motor Vehicle. The victim is a contractor working at a home under construction. Upon completing work for the day, the victim found that an unknown person had entered his unlocked vehicle and removed his wallet from a door pocket. Information was obtained and provided to detectives for their follow up investigation. Officers are checking the area for any video surveillance footage.

2/24/21 at 1615 Hours. 11700 Block of Forest Glen. Fraud by Deception. The victim reported that he had purchased a gift card from an individual on E-bay.  Upon receiving the sealed item, the gift card was not present. The seller has not responded to the victim. The transaction appears to be fraudulent. Information about the sale was obtained and provided to the E-Bay fraud Division at their request.