HOUSTON — The Houston Police Department is investigating after dozens of businesses were broken into last weekend along part of Kingwood Drive in Kingwood.
The 24 break-ins happened within a few hours at businesses in shopping centers. Investigators said only one of the 24 businesses had a valid alarm system that alerted police. As HPD investigates the break-ins, they're also urging businesses to register their alarms with HPD.
The business owners are stuck paying the bills to fix what was broken, but the community is banding together to do what they can to make sure those responsible for the damages are caught. Through social media, people across Kingwood are sharing surveillance images showing the masked criminals in a dark-colored Toyota four-door sedan. They appear to have been armed with a small device, too.
Security cameras at Planet Beach captured the last few seconds of the crime spree on Saturday morning. Authorities think the suspects were targeting cash registers and merchandise, but they didn't get away with much from Planet Beach and they didn’t steal from every location. They caused plenty of damage, though.
"We’re a membership-based business, so most of our business is done through automatic credit card withdrawals. So we didn’t have a lot of cash. They did more damage with the door," Planet Beach owner Tracie Mieth said. "With the recession going on, the economy, things are kind of slowing down for us and this is a big deal."
At stores less than half a mile away from Planet Beach, it was the same scene.
"These ladies are a family. They work very hard," Kingwood resident Cebrina Sanders said when talking about her local alteration shop, which was also hit by the bandits.
A nearby boutique has only been open for a couple of weeks. Feathered Arrows, unfortunately, was in the middle of the crime path.
"It makes me sick to my stomach to think about it," owner Emily Steglich said.
Steglich said the crooks took $4,500 in merchandise.
"And they took about $320 out of the cash register," Steglich said.
She said she was burglarized and robbed of her sense of security.
"We had that security system and obviously it failed us," Steglich said.
Due to Kingwood's location, HPD is working with authorities in Harris and Montgomery counties to see if the suspects could be linked to other similar crimes. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).