HEWITT, Texas — The Hewitt Police Department is urging the community to lock its vehicles and remove any firearms inside following a string of car burglaries that reportedly occurred in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 26.
Assistant Chief Heath Vanek said the first burglary took place on Regina Drive, where home security camera footage showed the suspect slide under a garage door that was partially opened.
When inside, police said the suspect rummaged through a vehicle and took "random items."
Vanek said the second one occurred on Steamboat Drive, where the suspect entered a vehicle and stole a firearm.
"There were no signs of forced entry so my guess is that they entered through an unlocked door," Vanek said.
Vanek is urging vigilance from the public to remove all valuables from vehicles when they're parked, especially firearms, and remember to lock vehicles at night, or "when you're not going to be around."
"We will have our officers patrolling those neighborhoods a little more regularly. And we try and stay at night and have our guys stay in the residentials and keep their eye on that kind of stuff," Vanek said.
Vanek is also urging the community to be on the look out for suspicious people around the city and report anyone suspicious.
At a minimum, Vanek said given the offense, the suspect could face a charge of burglary of a motor vehicle and if the firearm was stolen, that charge would be a felony burglary of a motor vehicle.
"We want you to park your vehicles in a well lit area, and any video footage that you may have picked up is always helpful to our detectives when we are investigating these," Vanek said.
Vanek said the odds of a suspect using a stolen firearm to commit a more serious offense are high and said it's of high importance to the department to track the suspect down.
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