As you will read below, this has been an unusually
busy week for us here at the MVPD. Unfortunately, the fraud-cyber criminals
have been very busy victimizing area residents and businesses. We had 4
additional Texas Workforce Commission fraud cases, several identity-theft
cases, and some additional mail theft crimes all occur. As the economy continues to struggle, I am
afraid that these crimes are going to continue to be a problem. I am once again
asking that everyone please retrieve your mail EVERY day
from your mailboxes. Criminals can very quickly create fake accounts for
everything from; false loans, insurance claims, credit cards to Unemployment
claims. A few pieces of mail, along with a few minutes on a computer and these
crooks are on their way to using your stolen identity, your good credit and
your good reputation to their advantage. Also, continue to closely monitor your
bank statements, credit reports and all financial records for any unusual
activity. The quicker you intervene, the less damage they can cause.
In the meantime, we continue to issue subpoenas for
records of IP addresses, fake account registrations and for banking information
of where the money/funds are going. We
have established working relationships with fraud investigators from the
various state and federal agencies and want to do whatever we can to hold these
thieves accountable for their actions.
Less than 2 weeks and the 2020 election cycle will
finally be over. Early voting continues at the First Congregational Church
located at 10840 Beinhorn. We are expecting a heavy turnout this weekend so if
you are out in the area, please use extra caution.
Since last week’s V-LINC was extra-long, I’m going to
end this week’s report here. Have a great weekend. Chief Ray Schultz rschultz@mvpdtx.org
Weekly Crime Report
Bunker Hill
10/16/20 at 1645 Hours. 300 Block of Folwell. Burglary
of a Vehicle. Officers were dispatched to the area in reference to the Burglary
of a Motor Vehicle that had just occurred. Upon speaking to the victim,
officers learned that the victim had just left the bank located at Echo and
I-10 with a quantity of cash. The victim had drove to this location to pay
contractors working on a job site. The
check of the ALPR system located the victim’s vehicle being followed by a black
Ford SUV. The same vehicle followed the victim to the location of the burglary
passing multiple ALPR cameras and was then located leaving the villages minutes
after the crime occurred. A check of the license plate showed the vehicle to be
a rental car. Detectives have contacted the rental car company and have
identified the renter. MVPD detectives are following up on the investigation.
The license plate of the suspect’s vehicle has been entered into the ALPR
system for alert should it return to the Villages.
Piney Point
10/17/20 at 1915 Hours. 11600 Block of Arrowwood.
Unlawful Use of a Stolen Motor Vehicle. Officers were conducting a directed
operation monitoring the area for suspicious temporary license plate tags on
vehicles. Officers observed the vehicle with a paper tag that appeared to be
fraudulent and initiated a traffic stop to investigate. A check of the VIN
number on the vehicle showed the vehicle to be a stolen vehicle out of Houston.
The suspect driving the vehicle attempted to show officers a rental agreement
for the vehicle. The rental agreement was also found to be fraudulent. Officers
were able to determine that the vehicle had been stolen from a dealership back
in February. The vehicle was recovered, and the 29-year-old male suspect was
booked into the Harris County Jail.
10/22/20 at 1445 Hours. 1 – 100 Block of Wexford.
Identity Theft/Fraud. The victim reported receiving an alert from her bank
monitoring app for two purchases of computer equipment. And then soon
afterwards, a call from a computer company asking for verification of the order
for equipment that she did not make or authorize. The order was being charged
to her credit card. The victim denied the order. Information about the incident
was obtained and provided to detectives for their follow up investigation.
Hunters Creek
10/18/20 at 1045 Hours. 200 Block of Bryn Mawr.
Identity Theft. The victim reported that a neighbor had located an open box
laying outside with her address on it from AT&T. The victim had not ordered
anything from AT&T. An inquiry into the company found that an unknown
person had opened an account using the victim’s personal identifiers. The
account was closed and information about the fake account was obtained and
provided to detectives for their follow up investigation.A package had been
delivered to the victims home but was intercepted by the thieves.
10/20/20 at 2300 Hours. 900 Bingle Road. Unlawful
Possession of a two deadly weapons (firearms). Officers initiated a traffic
stop after observing a traffic violation. Upon approaching the vehicle,
officers could detect the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Officers
asked the occupants to exit the vehicle. Upon exiting the car, a passenger
appeared to be extremely nervous and when asked why he was so nervous, he said
because he had a gun hidden in his pants. Officers recovered a loaded pistol
from the subject. Officers also located a second loaded handgun in the driver’s
side door pocket along with baggies of marijuana. Both were placed under
arrest. Both 20-year-old males were booked into the Harris County Jail.
10/21/20 at 0730 Hours. 400 Block of Hedwig. Mail
Theft. Officers responded to the area after residents located various pieces of
mail belonging to other area residents laying up and down the street on Hedwig
Road. Open mail and open boxes were located. Officers contacted the homeowners
and learned of the missing items from residents that had been delivered. It
appears that overnight, unknown persons had taken mail and packages from
mailboxes on nearby streets. An area ALPR captured license plate information of
vehicles that had been in the area overnight. Detectives are following up on
those vehicles. Streets involved include: Wilding, Wexford and Landon.
10/21/20 at 0830 Hours. 10900 Block of Long Shadows.
Burglary of a Motor Vehicle. The victim reported that upon going out to her
vehicle this morning, she observed that unknown person(s) had rummaged through
her vehicles overnight. The vehicles had been unlocked. A diaper bag and
sunglasses were missing. Information about the burglaries was obtained and
provided to detectives who are following up on the investigation.
10/21/20 at 1000 Hours. 200 Block of Voss. Recovered
Stolen Motor Vehicle. Officers were alerted to a stolen vehicle being towed by
an unmarked tow truck on Voss via the ALPR system. Officers were nearby and
quickly located the tow truck and vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. Officers were able to verify the vehicle
being towed was an outstanding stolen vehicle. The suspects stated that they
were taking the vehicle to a salvage lot for dismantling. Constables Office
detectives responded to the location after being notified of the vehicle
recovery. Detectives requested to take over the case as they had an on-going
investigation into this particular auto-theft ring. Through investigation it
was learned that the suspects had taken other stolen vehicles to a salvage yard
for dismantling. A 30-year-old and a 56-year-old male suspect were turned over
to the Constables. The tow truck and the stolen vehicle were both towed to a
legitimate tow yard. Great job by MVPD staff.
10/21/20 at 1015 Hours. 900 Block of Voss. Failure to
Identity Fugitive. Officers were dispatched to a single vehicle accident. Upon
arrival to the scene, one of the subjects was on the phone telling someone that
they had caused the accident while driving. When officers questioned the other
person present, they claimed that they were the actual driver. When questioned further they stated that a
third party who had left the area was the driver. Neither subject had driver
licenses. One of the subjects then provided a false name and DOB to the
investigating officer. That person was
found to have an outstanding warrant for their arrest. The jail would not
accept the subject for booking due to current COVID-19 protocols. Officers
towed the vehicle and will obtain additional arrest warrants for the subjects
as per the DA’s Office for concealing their identities and other charges.
10/21/20 at 1700 Hours. 10800 Block of Briar Branch.
Fraud. The victim reported that she was notified of fraudulent activity on her
Amazon Account and charges to her bank for items that she had not ordered.
Additional investigation located fraudulent Zelle transactions that the victim
did not make or authorize. The accounts were frozen, and information was
obtained and provided to detectives for their follow up investigation.
Texas Workforce Commission Fraud Cases
10/19/20 at 0845 Hours. 200 Block of Caruthers.
Fraudulent application for unemployment using the victim’s personal
information.
10/19/20 at 1900 Hours. 8400 Block of Hunters Creek
Drive. Fraudulent application for unemployment using the victim’s personal
information.
10/20/20 at 1600 Hours. 1-100 Block of Greyton Lane. Fraudulent application for unemployment using the victim’s
personal information.
10/21/20 at 1500 Hours. 1 – 100 Block of Hampton
Court. Fraudulent application for unemployment using the victim’s personal
information.
