This week has been unlike anything we have ever seen before in the Houston area. Several of our officers have described this week as having a Hurricane, in the middle of the Winter. No power, no water, no supplies, no cell service, no phones and no internet for days. The difference being, instead of being hot and sweaty due to no air conditioning, we have been freezing due to no heat.  Instead of having driving problems due to flooding, downed trees and wires. We are having driving problems due to snow, ice and frozen roads. Clean-up and repairs just like a hurricane, will take weeks.

I want to thank the city teams and water authority staff that have been working around the clock on the water system, shutting down water lines and reestablishing village wide water service. They have addressed hundreds of cases of broken pipes. Public works crews, VFD and MVPD officers turned off water at hundreds of homes and continue to do so, as we now discover vacated properties where broken pipes have flooded homes. Thanks to the residents who loaned us their water shut off tools. Those assisted us greatly in getting water turned off.

Since Monday, our dispatch center tele-communicator personnel have been answering thousands of calls. Besides our regular calls they have also answered calls for the water authority and dispatching their crews to pipe breaks.  We brought in extra staff keeping 3, and at times 4, 911 operators busy. If you were one of the very few who were placed on hold or had to callback, we apologize. These same dispatchers also answer 911 calls and on a couple of occasions non-emergency calls were accidentally dropped as 911 calls came in, those are always the priority.

We have been housing officers and dispatchers at nearby hotels (including some without power/water) and in the station. We worked from generator power for 4 days. Also, like most of you, we have not had water and had to commandeer a port-a-potty and set-up it outside in our sallyport area. A portable electric heater was set up inside of it making it almost tolerable.

Staff has been cooking on our grill when we can. Peanut butter and jelly, along with cans of soup have been the food of choice. On Wednesday, Mayor Pappas and Matt from Federal Grill provided a hot meal. Karen Glynn the City Manger from Bunker Hill found an open grocery store that also helped stock up our food supplies with power bars and protein bars. The MVPD Foundation has been cooking hot dogs and anything else they have been able to gather up.

Village officials including Karen Glynn and her staff have been taking calls forwarded from our dispatch center that effect Bunker Hill water customers as has Tom Fullen the City Manager from Hunters Creek. Beside water and power, trash has also become somewhat of a concern. Trash is now being picked up in the villages, but only household trash. Construction debris will need to be discarded off/hauled away by your contractors doing any repairs. The MVPD wants to thank the staff from all 3 villages who have assisted during this crisis. When we have needed something to happen, they, along with the Mayors made sure it was done. 

So, besides dealing with all of the weather-related issues we also had some criminals show up and try to take advantage of the on-going weather events.  A duo of women decided to steal mail from mailboxes throughout Piney Point Village during the storm while another guy was pulling on car door handles.  Officers located and arrested the 2 female mail thieves and returned them to the Harris County Jail. The car burglar unfortunately has not yet been caught. Please ensure that your vehicles are locked. This week’s auto burglary was found on video just strolling down Knipp pulling on the car door handles looking for unlocked cars.  Read more about these cases below in the crime report.

Mail Theft Update: Our detectives have been following up on several leads in reference to our recent string of mail thefts and the washing of checks. This week detectives were able to identify a suspect in some of our most recent cases. They have submitted an arrest warrant for the suspect to the DA’s Office and are awaiting the warrant to be issued. This week’s storm has slowed down the issuance of the warrant but as soon as it is issued, we plan on arresting the suspect. More details as soon as we have the warrant in hand and our suspect in custody.

The Birdies for Blues Golf Tournament that was scheduled for this week was cancelled due to a multitude of reasons. The Lee brothers are working on scheduling a makeup day that should occur sometime in the next couple of weeks. Individual players will receive an email with more specifics as the details are worked out.  Thank you for your understanding and patience.

It has been a year since we hosted a RAD Training Class and several of you have been asking when we could start the program back up. Officer Michelle Owens has been working with instructors statewide and they have developed a way to continue the training in this post-COVID environment. The next RAD Class is scheduled for March 1-4, 2021. Time of the classes will be from 10am-1:30pm and will held at the Memorial Drive Christian Church of Houston located at 11750 Memorial Drive. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants should be paired with a relative or close friend. The physical part of the self-defense class will be between the participant and their relative/friend/partner only, in order to not have any close contact with others.  Other specific safety protocols will be in place along with frequent sanitation of all equipment. Mask wearing will be mandatory by all participants and instructors. If you and a partner would like to reserve your places in the RAD class, please contact Officer Owens at mowens@mvpdtx.org The class will be kept small so reserve you place early.

Last night/this morning was hopefully our last freeze and the conclusion of the weather portion of the “Great Ice Storm of 2021”. The only thing left will be a lengthy clean up. As part of the clean up effort and continuing damage assessment we received this email notice from the Texas Department of Emergency Management. Residents who suffered direct damage, as a result of this week’s storm, are asked to complete the attached assessment survey.   

The Governor announced a statewide effort to collect damage assessment data for this unprecedented event. This information is being collected to help officials across the state gain an understanding of damages for individuals throughout Texas. EMCs will have direct access to all reporting via WebEoc on the Recovery Common Operating Picture Board.

Our objective in this effort is to demonstrate the scale of this disaster at the local level. As such, this will be a local effort with support from the state. Consider pushing out the access link and QR code on social media for the best results. Our previous use of this product has yielded excellent results in multiple large disasters. With this detailed information, we will be able to demonstrate the total impact statewide.

The success of this effort will assist the local jurisdiction with the eligibility to potential federal programs.

Link:     https://arcg.is/uOrOb        QR Code:     

Have a good weekend. Chief Ray Schultz rschultz@mvpdtx.org

Weekly Crime Report

Piney Point

2/12/21 at 1215 Hours. 11500 Block of Shadow Way. Falsely Obtaining Unemployment Benefits/Fraud. The victim reported that she was notified by her employer that an unemployment claim has been initiated by an unknown individual who had used the victim’s SSN during the application process. Information about the fraud was obtained and provided to detectives and TWC Investigators for their follow-up investigation. 

2/12/21 at 1745 Hours. 11500 Block of Memorial Drive. Forgery. The victim reported that while reviewing banking statements she noticed a check that she did not recognize and was out of sequence. A closer examination found that an unknown person had created a fake check and cashed it for several thousand dollars. Information about the check was obtained and provided to detectives for their follow up investigation.

2/14/21 at 1400 Hours. 1-100 Block of Windemere. Mail Theft. Officers were alerted to a mail theft in progress occurring in the Windemere neighborhood. The suspects were described as 2 females in a small silver sedan with tinted windows that had bubbled. As officers were responding to the area, they observed a vehicle matching the description heading north in the 600 block of Blalock and initiated a traffic stop.  Inside of the vehicle officers located 105 pieces of mail from multiple addresses and streets in Piney Point. A review of area video footage showed both females removing mail from mailboxes. The neighborhood ALPR confirmed the vehicle as being involved in the crimes. At the time of the traffic stop the females had provided false information to officers. After obtaining their fingerprints, their true identities were determined. Both have prior criminal histories. The 31 and 33-year-old females were booked into the Harris County Jail on a sundry of charges.

Hunters Creek

2/13/21 at 2115 Hours. 500 Block of Three Corners. Failure to stop and give information. Officers were dispatched to the area in reference to a hit and run driver. Upon arrival officers spoke with the victim who had their parked vehicle hit by a Black Kia that had fled the scene. Through investigation officers confirmed that a Lyft driver had dropped off passengers in the area and while leaving stuck a parked car before fleeing. Officers attempted to gain additional information from Lyft however, they have been less than cooperative. The investigation remains as active.

2/14/21 at 1230 Hours. 8500 Block of Katy Freeway. Theft. The victim reported that a black male entered the store and proceeded to the rear coolers where he removed a case of beer before running from the store. Officers searched the area for the suspect who was not located. A theft report was generated.

Bunker Hill

2/15/21 at 1015 Hours. 300 Block of Knipp Road. Burglary of a Vehicle. Victim reported that sometime during the night, someone had entered the unlocked vehicle and rummaged through the interior. A review of area video surveillance showed during the storm a male subject wearing a gray hoodie and a backpack with dark pants and shoes had entered the vehicle at around 0330 hours. The male suspect was walking on foot and was possibly a transient. Information was obtained and provided to detectives for their follow up investigation.

2/15/21 at 1115 Hours. 11900 Block of Broken Bough. Burglary of a Vehicle. Victim reported that during the night an unknown subject had entered their unlocked vehicle and taken a pair of sunglasses. A nearby video camera captured an image of a subject walking in the area matching the description of the auto burglary suspect from Knipp Road walking in the area pulling on car door handles.  Information was obtained and provided to detectives for their follow up investigation.

2/15/21 at 1330 Hours. 12300 Block of Longworth. Mail Theft/Forgery.  The victim reported that upon reviewing his bank statement he located a check that he did not recognize. Further review found that a check he had regionally issued and mailed had been intercepted and washed. The check was originally made out to the Harris County Tax Collector but was now changed to an unknown individual and had been cashed. Information was obtained and provided to detectives for their follow up investigation.

2/18/21 at 1430 Hours. 300 Block of Knipp. Burglary of a Motor Vehicle. The victim reported that they had not accessed their vehicle in several days and that upon entering it today, found that an unknown person had entered it and rummaged through the glovebox and a backpack that was inside of the vehicle. Information was gathered and provided to detectives for their follow up investigation.