ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Car burglaries are becoming all too common for people living in the Odessa area. The Odessa Police Department said, it happens in bursts, but is always a constant problem.
Furious and fed up is how some victims described their emotions. Some said this is not the first time this month that their vehicle had been broken into.
OPD said the constant crime is something that can be prevented but it won’t be going away completely.
T McFadden is a resident of the Faudree Ranch Apartments in Odessa and said she has been continuously on the look out for those burglarizing their apartment complex.
“We weren’t sure if it was just some kids in the complex or if, it was, you know, just some young people being stupid, or just you know, I don’t know what’s going on but it’s scary,” she shrugged.
McFadden said she and several others in her apartment complex have been burglarized multiple times in the past two months.
She added, “Just this last weekend, it got broken into again, I didn’t have anything to take this time, because I learned from the first time so, they didn’t get away with anything but they tossed everything out of the console and all over my seat.”
Another victim just down the road has had, what she believes, to be the same two suspects attempting to break into her vehicle, on separate occasions.
She chose to remain anonymous, but she said she’s glad she posted the video that her home camera system caught of the attempted burglary to the Nextdoor app, after the third incident, hoping to warn her neighbors.
She strongly recommended installing cameras yourself.
“I encourage everybody to put up cameras, really, because it helps,” she added. “You feel that extra security.”
She said she hopes that for the safety of the victims and the safety of the suspects, that this stops soon.
“It’s kind of frustrating that people are actually doing that when it’s so dangerous when everybody has access to guns or whatever, you know, well what if they have a gun to? You know, that’s just the reality that we’re living in I guess, right now,” she emphasized. “But it can be dangerous for the homeowner as well as those people out there committing the crimes.”
And OPD said there are many other ways to discourage these criminals.
Corporal Steve LeSueur strongly suggested, “Please do not leave spare keys or weapons inside your vehicle, keep your vehicles locked, but just don’t be a target. Don’t give them a reason to break into your vehicle because studies show that if you avoid leaving those valuable items in plain sight, they’re less likely to burglarize your vehicle.”
As for arrests made this weekend, OPD arrest records show three suspects were arrested:
- Anthony Duran: one count burglary of vehicles and one count attempted burglary of vehicles
- German Carrasco: one count evading arrest detention and two counts of burglary of vehicles
- Juan Flores: one count evading arrest detention and two counts of burglary of vehicles
OPD continued to urge you to not keep any of your belongings in you vehicle, park in a well lit area, and of course if you do experience a car break-in report it to your local law enforcement right away.