This week MVPD detectives have been busy tracking down
a gang of career criminals who have been plaguing the area with thefts of
materials from construction sites. Over the past month we had experienced 3
thefts from construction sites of thousands of dollars of valuable wood.
Detectives had reviewed hours and hours of area video surveillance footage in
an attempt to gain a clue into the identities of the suspects. Detectives locate a resident who had cameras
that pointed in the direction of one of those recent thefts. The resident
allowed our detectives to watch the video footage to see if anything had been
captured. After watching all the overnight video, nothing was seen. The detective had assumed that the crime had
occurred after dark and overnight. When
nothing was seen, the detectives decided to start over and begin monitoring the
video starting when the construction crew finished for the day. That decision
turned out to be exactly what was needed to break this case wide open. The detective
observed a white construction van to pull up to the construction gate shortly
after the crew left. They cut off the
lock and then drove into the site and loaded up dozens of sheets of plywood and
other valuable specialty wood. Upon
loading up their vehicle they simply drove away after tying the gate shut so
that it appeared to be secured.
Now that we knew a white construction van was
involved, the detectives reviewed the ALPR camera system and quickly located
the suspect vehicle. The problem was the
van was displaying a paper license plate tag that was found to be fraudulent
and not registered. Next detectives
reviewed ALPR data from nearby cameras on the dates and times of the other
previously reported thefts from construction sites. They located the same van present at each
crime scene, around the same time of 5 – 6 pm. A check of the specific day of
the week of the crimes showed them to be occurring during mid-week.
Detectives then entered the fake paper license plate
into the ALPR Hotlist and organized an area surveillance team for Wednesday
evening beginning at 5 pm. At
approximately 5:40 pm detectives observed a vehicle traveling on Bunker Hill
Road that matched the description of the suspect vehicle, as it passed by an
ALPR system it verified our suspects were in the area. Detectives followed the
vehicle and watched as it went to a construction site in Bunker Hill
Village. The suspects cased the site as
they drove by it several times looking for wood. They did not break into the
construction site and started to drive from the area. Due to the vehicle
displaying a fake license plate, detectives requested that a marked MVPD come
and stop the vehicle.
Upon having the 4 occupants exit the vehicle it was
determined that all 4 suspects were undocumented immigrants with some of them
possessing fraudulent El Salvadorian documentation. Inside of the vehicle was 24 sheets of custom
paneling. Through investigation, detectives were able to determine that the wood
had been stolen just minutes earlier from a construction site in the City of
Houston.
One suspect was found to have 11 prior deportations
for committing a sundry of prior crimes. 2 of the suspects had current and
active deportation orders, while another had an outstanding felony arrest warrant
for a prior theft. 2 also had active arrest warrants for possession of
controlled substances. No one claimed ownership of the van or the stolen wood.
I.C.E. investigators were contacted and confirmed the
deportation orders as being valid. ICE
requested to take custody of the 2 fugitives, and they responded to the
scene. Immigration officials were
contacted and confirmed the documents provided by the suspects were fake and
were able to help positively identify 2 of the suspects. One of the suspects admitted
to being involved in previous Memorial Area thefts of construction
materials. He told detectives that they
are day laborers who are picked up daily to perform construction work. They
work at various construction sites for cash. While working, they see what
materials are present and learn what time the sites close for the day. They
leave for a short time and then return and break into the job site and steal
the new unused building materials. (Note: at one of the previous job sites here
in the villages 96 sheets of plywood was taken in 12 minutes time). One of the
suspects admitted that the materials are resold to a “wholesaler” in East
Houston for pennies on the dollar. None
claimed to not know each other; however, it was obvious that that was false. No
one claimed to speak English, but fortunately we had 3 officers on duty who are
fluent in Spanish.
The DA’s Office was contacted and agreed to releasing
the 2 suspects with Deportation Orders (Failure to Appear for
Deportation/Aggravated Felon) to I.C.E. officials, the suspect with the felony
warrant (theft with a previous conviction) was accepted into the Harris County
Jail. The DA’s office agreed to accept charges on all 4 suspects and for “to-be
warrants to be issued”. This was due to the fact that the owners of
construction site of where the theft had been committed on that day could not
be immediately contacted. I.C.E.
officials only wanted the two suspects with the active deportation orders and
the county wanted the subject with the outstanding warrant. The last suspect
was positively identified, fingerprinted, photographed, and then released. The
van was impounded and towed to the police department. The next morning
detectives along with Houston detectives went to the construction site where they
confirmed the wood had been stolen. The
sheets of specialty oak paneling were returned to the construction company.
While working on the paperwork for this crime the lead
detective remembered a previous theft of construction supplies in 2021, on
Williamsburg in Bunker Hill. On March 5,
2021, a construction site had been broken into and 65 sheets of plywood stolen.
At the time of that theft, a neighbor had seen a white van also with a paper
license plate on it at the time. A poor-quality picture of that van had been
captured. That photo was reexamined, and it matches the suspects in this most
recent series of crimes. The van has very unique markings and is an exact
match. It appears that this group of
subjects has been very busy across Houston for over a year stealing tens of
thousands of dollars’ worth of supplies from construction sites. MVPD detectives are working with other
agencies on additional unsolved thefts of construction supplies/wood now that
these suspects have been identified.
An in-depth look into the histories of these criminals
found the following:
Suspect 1 - age 45: Active Warrant for Possession of
Cocaine, prior convictions/arrests for Burglary, Felony Theft, Class A Theft,
Felony Theft with 2 or more prior convictions.
Suspect 2 – Age 52: Active Felony Warrant for Felony
Theft, prior convictions/arrests for Felony Theft, and DWI.
Suspect 3 – Age 40: Active Warrant for Possession of a
Controlled Substance, prior convictions/arrests for Assault causing bodily
injury, DWI, DWI 2nd, Evading arrest, Possession of a Controlled
Substance, Class A Theft x2.
Suspect 4 – Age 20: No prior Arrests. To-Be warrant
issued for this arrest per the DA’s Office.
Suspects 1 and 3 were transferred to ICE Officers, due
to them having outstanding ICE Fugitive Warrants.
MVPD detectives will continue their investigation as
they now are following the trail of where the stolen supplies/wood was being
sold. Great work by MVPD detectives.
And then, yesterday at about 2:30 pm, MVPD officers
were alerted by the ALPR system of a stolen vehicle entering the Villages on
Voss Road at Magnolia Bend. The vehicle had been taken during an armed robbery
in Houston earlier in the day. Officers were in the area and located the stolen
vehicle and attempted to stop the car. The Acura RDX began to flee from MVPD
officers who were quickly joined by HPD units. The suspect vehicle while trying
to elude police lost control and hit a curb at which time two of the subjects
inside of the vehicle ran on foot. MVPD
officers chased one of the men while HPD chased the other. Both were taken into
custody as was a female who remained inside of the stolen car. Both men were found to have ammunition in
their pockets and a loaded handgun was found inside of the car. HPD detectives
responded and took custody of all 3 suspects. The stolen vehicle was
recovered. Another great job by our
patrol team.
On Thursday, the newest MVPD R.A.D. Class graduated at
Chapelwood Church. The class was
attended by several area residents made up of mother/daughter teams and alumni.
Congratulations to the class for all of the hard work, physical defense tactics
practice and learning how best to protect themselves and their families. The
next RAD Class is scheduled for August 1 -3, 2022, from 10 am – 2 pm each day.
The classes will be held at Chapelwood Church located at 11140 Greenbay in
Piney Point. The classes are free. Please contact Officer Michelle Owens to sign
up or learn more about the class at mowens@mvpdtx.org
Vacation season is now in full swing. Please remember
to include your house on our house watch list if you are leaving town. You can
register on-line on our webpage or give us a call at 713-365-3700.
Thanks to everyone who was respectful during the 4th
of July weekend of your neighbors and who did not light off dangerous
fireworks. Unfortunately, we did need to respond to a few calls where a few
folks were not as considerate. Please
remember that we are still in drought like conditions with lots of dry grass
and debris in the area. Warnings will no longer be issued; however, citations
will be. Miss the VIF Parade? Check it out here.
https://youtu.be/tid5f-EsLCk
And since we are talking about fires, another quick
response this week by Village Fire to a car fire on Windemere. Picture attached
along with a short YouTube video
https://youtu.be/DimaAkF6IAw
Have a great weekend. Chief Ray Schultz rschultz@mvpdtx.org
Weekly Crime Report
Hunters Creek
7/1/22 at 1200 Hours. 8400 Block of Katy Freeway.
Identity Theft. The victim (business)
reported they learned that 2 checks that had been mailed to them for payment
had been intercepted and cashed by other individuals. A comprehensive review of
banking system accounts and business credit reporting found at least 2 accounts
had attempted to be opened in other states using this businesses details. Information on the 2 checks was obtained and
provided to detectives. The issuers and
their respective banks were notified of the incident.
7/7/22 at 1430 Hours. 900 Bingle. Recovered Stolen
Vehicle. Officers were alerted to a stolen vehicle entering the villages on
Voss that had been taken during an armed robbery. As officers initiated a traffic stop the
vehicle fled from officers. After a short pursuit and foot chase 2 suspects
were taken into custody along with a female who remained inside of the vehicle.
A firearm was also recovered. HPD assisted and took over the investigation. The
suspects were all arrested by HPD detectives who also responded to the
location.
Bunker Hill
7/1/22 at 1245 Hours. 11700 Block of Greenbay.
Fraud. The victim reported she received
notice from her bank that one of her checks had been intercepted, washed, and
forged. The check had originally been issued to the IRS but changed to an
individual. It is unknown how the suspect intercepted the check. Information about the account and the check
was obtained and the bank account was frozen. Detectives have taken over the
investigation.
7/2/22 at 1045 Hours. 11900 Block of Clarendon. Public
Intoxication. Officers were dispatched
to the area in reference to a male subject passed out in a vehicle that was
parked in the homeowner’s driveway. Upon arrival officers located a highly
intoxicated male who had no idea of where he was. Due to the high level of intoxication the
male was placed under arrest and his vehicle towed. The 41-year-old male was booked into the MVPD
jail where he slept until a friend arrived to bail him out.
7/2/22 at 2215 Hours. 300 Block of Knipp Forest. Lewd
Conduct. Officers were dispatched to the area in reference to a male subject at
the front door who the homeowner did not know or was expecting. Officers
arrived and contacted the male who stated that he was sent to the address to
meet someone whom he had met on a social media app/account but now believed
that he had been set-up. The subject was identified and released. The next day
the homeowner had the opportunity to review video doorbell footage and observed
the male who had been at the door was performing lewd conduct with himself.
Officers recontacted the male who stated that he had been touching himself as
that was part of the instructions provided to him on the social media app. The
case has been referred to detectives for follow up and for consideration of
charges.
7/3/22 at 2130 Hours. 500 Block of Knipp. Driving
While Intoxicated. A MVPD Officer
observed a Moped on Knipp Road to be weaving as it traveled down the
roadway. Officers stopped the vehicle
and upon approaching the driver detected alcohol coming from the driver. The driver was asked to perform field
sobriety tests which he failed. The 34-year-old male was placed under arrest
and booked into the Harris County Jail. The Moped was towed from the scene.
7/7/22 at 2215 Hours. 200 Gessner. Recovered Stolen
License Plate. Officers were alerted to a stolen vehicle entering the villages
on Gessner Road. Officers were nearby
and quickly located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. Through investigation officers were able to
determine that the vehicle was not stolen. Someone had replaced the rear plate
with a plate from a stolen vehicle of the same make and model. The front plate
was still present and the vehicle that was stopped was confirmed as not stolen
and was driven by the owner. A report was initiated on the newly discovered
stolen license plate and that plate was entered into the ALPR database.
