Flower Mound Leader - Friday 17, 2009Police catch home burglary suspectsCut wires used in recent burglaries
By Dan Eakin and Chris Roark, Staff Writers
Flower Mound Police arrested two teenagers Friday morning in connection with a series of home burglaries recently in Lewisville and Flower Mound.
According to a press release issued by the Flower Mound Police Department, 19-year-old Kelly Zedekiah Couch and 17-year-old Gabriel James Thomas, both of Flower Mound, were arrested and charged with theft and possession of criminal instruments. Couch was also arrested on a Class C Misdemeanor out of Irving.
Lt. Wess Griffin of the Flower Mound Police Department said Officer Justin Lobello noticed a suspicious vehicle near Parker Square around 12:40 a.m. Friday, and he noticed several vehicle violations as he approached it.
A search of the car revealed tools commonly used to commit burglaries, Griffin said, as well as stolen items. Among the items was a drivers license from one of the burglary victims in Lewisville.
“That really tied things together,” Griffin said.
Griffin said police are continuing to interview the suspects and could file more charges, including burglary.
A total of eight Lewisville homes, and at least two Flower Mound homes, were the targets of daring daylight burglars in recent weeks, including three which have been burglarized this week.
Capt. Kevin Deaver of the Lewisville Police Department said the burglars first checked to see if anyone is home. If no one answers the door, they cut electric lines and telephone lines and then break a window at the back of the home to gain entry.
Deaver said the burglars took jewelry, flat screen television sets, games and other items of value.
The latest such break-in and burglary occurred Wednesday at 425 Preston Oaks Drive. Two homes were similarly burglarized Tuesday, at 1002 Westwood Drive and at 1670 Clarendon Drive. A home at 405 Hoover Drive was broken into and burglarized Monday.
Other similar incidents occurred April 8 at 2108 Fountain Drive; March 27 at 405 Foster Lane; March 25 at 405 Jenkins Lane; and March 21 at 432 Jenkins Lane.
Griffin said there were two similar incidents have occurred in Flower Mound, including one which was successful and one which was not.
On March 14, there was a home burglary on the 4400 block of Chilton Lane, on the west edge of Bridlewood. On March 29, an unsuccessful attempt occurred on the 2600 block of Timberline Drive in north Flower Mound. Both incidents occurred between noon and 4 p.m. At the Timberline incident, a line was cut that resulted in an electrical arcing between the phone line and the breaker box, which may have scared the burglars away, Griffin said.
Lewisville and Flower Mound police worked together to attempt to arrest suspects.
Deaver said several Lewisville police officers worked in the area of the burglaries, watching and questioning any possible suspects.
He said the officers questioned several suspects in the area and arrested seven of them, but on charges not related to the break-ins and burglaries. Most of the burglaries occurred just north or just south of Bellaire Boulevard, near Southwest Parkway.
Deaver offered some tips on how residents can protect themselves and their neighbors from possible break-ins and burglaries.
“Suspects committing burglaries usually try to avoid contact with homeowners,” Deaver said. “They will usually go to the door and ring the doorbell to see if someone is home. If someone answers the door, they usually make up an excuse for being there. They will say they must be at the wrong house or ask for someone that does not live there. Residents should take note of their descriptions and vehicle identifiers, if possible.”
“A lot of people do not answer the door for strangers,” he said. “If someone is at your door and you do not answer, watch them to see what they do. If they do not immediately leave, call the police.”
He recommended, “Get involved in a crime watch group. Make sure you know your neighbors and what vehicles belong at their houses. If you see anything suspicious, call the police. If you have alarms, make sure your alarms have back up systems in place to notify police in the event the power or phone lines are cut.”
Griffin said residents should also check with the alarm company to see if it has the ability to show activity when a phone line is cut. He also suggested calling the phone company and asking if it’s possible to have phone lines buried until they reach the interior of the house.
I seriously dont understand whats going in our town. When I was growing up I hated how adults accused kids of everything. I didnt know anyone who was a trouble maker. Although technically a 17yo and 19 yo are considered adults, and are not restricted to curfew, it does give teenagers a bad name. Its sad that the police harass teenagers so often, doing searches and such when they haven't even broken the law, but it has gotten to the point where I completely understand why there is probable cause.
These two kids may BOTH still be in high school, and if not, I bet they BOTH still live at home. I dont understand how children who come from a upper middle class environment would commit such crimes. Why do they need to steal flat screen TVs and video games? You dont already have these? where are you going to put them? How are you going to sell them? why do you need to?
Reminds me of when I had my wallet stolen when I went to Marcus. Was it worth the $33? The pictures and other such items had more personal value, not to mention that it would have been nice if I could afford to buy lunch that day. How did it benefit them? They probably get that each week in allowance, if not more.
Flower Mound does have trailer parks, but most of these criminals statistically come from well off homes, some of these criminals even get good grades. I just got to wonder though, since odds are these two criminals do still live at home, where were the parents? Im not going to place the blame on them, because once again, 17 and 19yos are adults, but its midnight, and your kids not home, where is he/she? I have seen kids this age play outside at night all the time. Though they arent breaking curfew, I still find it odd that someone would let their child play outside at 10pm on a school night.
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