Crime In The Heights

[EMME]

I had one come by my house last year or so and tell me that he was sent and recommended by my neighbor and said her name. When I told him no anyway, he got really testy with me. THey ran a thing of the news about that same time and confronted them. They do indeed work for some company, but they are not necessarily licensed or anything. Just scamming.

[samiamj]

As most of you have already heard, Lazybrook had some excitement last night.

As a result of some good police instincts, an off duty Houston Police Officer J. Roberts (a Timber grove resident) observed two suspicious males slowly driving down his street. He began to follow them in his own car and realized that the suspects were pulling away from a vehicle which just had been broken into.

Doing what police officers do, he took police action, even though he was off duty. By coincidence, he attempted to effect the arrest in front of another off duty Houston Police Officer, B. Burgess ( amazingly enough he also is a Lazybrook resident). The two officers were assisted by another Lazybrook resident B. Gonzales who helped by blocking the suspects vehicle from escaping.

Sgt. Jaskolka and Officer Duffy, from the Heights Police Storefront, were the first on duty units to arrive and arrested the suspects and later placed them in the HPD jail.

During the investigation, Sgt. Jaskolka and Officer Duffy found that the suspects were also wanted in other criminal activities which occurred in the area. Suspect #1 was wanted for a burglary which occurred in the Rice Military neighborhood, while suspect #2 was wanted for a theft which occurred int he Woodland Heights neighborhood. We are currently checking to see if they might also be connected to other crimes in the area.

Please pass along this information to your residents so that they know that by being the eyes and ears of the Police Department, they also can assist us in apprehending other criminals.

Officer Carol Trautwein

Ana Maria Lopez Storefront

713-222-5196

713-222-5199 (fax)

[lcman]

Does anyone have any information on what happened at Washington Mutual on Monday, July 6th? I finished grocery shopping at the 20th St. Kroger (I know, obviously not a very smart move considering the recent issues) at around noon and the Washington Mutual had yellow crime scene police tape all around it and there about 6 to 8 cop cars there.

Thanks.

[ricco67]

Does anyone have any information on what happened at Washington Mutual on Monday, July 6th? I finished grocery shopping at the 20th St. Kroger (I know, obviously not a very smart move considering the recent issues) at around noon and the Washington Mutual had yellow crime scene police tape all around it and there about 6 to 8 cop cars there.

Thanks.

Why is it not very smart to shop at the kroger at 20th street?

Nothing mentioned on the news from what I seen.

[lcman]

Ricco-I was strictly speaking of the recent crime activity at the shopping center. I have absolutely nothing against the 20th St. Kroger, I appreciate that it's there.

[ricco67]

Either way, you can't avoid every place in the city that has had a mini crime wave, if all I'm saying.

You'd wind up living in the exburbs locked dependent on delivery.

[toadfroggy]

That Washington Mutual is closed. Last I knew, the building was empty. I don't know what the crime scene tape was about, but pretty sure it wasn't a bank robbery.

BTW, that Kroger is my main store. It sucks except for the location, but unless and until there's something both better and closer, it will remain my main store. I shop at the Walgreens too.

[Ross]

Does anyone have any information on what happened at Washington Mutual on Monday, July 6th? I finished grocery shopping at the 20th St. Kroger (I know, obviously not a very smart move considering the recent issues) at around noon and the Washington Mutual had yellow crime scene police tape all around it and there about 6 to 8 cop cars there.

Thanks.

WaMu or the Wachovia? One of our neighbors was in the Wachovia when it was robbed. I think that was Monday. She was in the back renewing a CD, and didn't see anything. Everyone in the front lost their purses and wallets.

[lcman]

WaMu or the Wachovia? One of our neighbors was in the Wachovia when it was robbed. I think that was Monday. She was in the back renewing a CD, and didn't see anything. Everyone in the front lost their purses and wallets.

My mistake, it was the Wachovia. Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about the robbery but glad everyone is okay.

[samiamj]

An article in the Houston Chronicle about this issue:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/index.php?showtopic=20813

[samiamj]

My mistake, it was the Wachovia. Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about the robbery but glad everyone is okay.

I emailed the central patrol for suspect descriptions. They would not

readily give it to me. If I am not mistaken, the last robbery was in

February, 2009.

"Read email below.

Yes sir there was a robbery at Kroger's on July 6th. However,

as per the City of Houston Police Department's policy, I am unable to

disclose information concerning the robbery, including the

description of the suspect. However, if you call the Public

Information Office at 713-308-3200 they can provide you with the

information you are needing.

Houston Police Heights Storefront

1127 N. Shepherd

Houston, Texas 77008

Phone (713) 803-1151

Fax (713) 803-1155"

[RedScare]

Anyone hear the volleys of semi-automatic gunfire in the Heights somewhere around 11th Street around 10:45? Several volleys. First was around 6 to 8 shots, followed by 3 or 4 more, followed by 2 or 3. I called it in, but was wondering if anyone else heard it.

[Porchman]

Anyone hear the volleys of semi-automatic gunfire in the Heights somewhere around 11th Street around 10:45? Several volleys. First was around 6 to 8 shots, followed by 3 or 4 more, followed by 2 or 3. I called it in, but was wondering if anyone else heard it.

Not tonight, I didn't.

Not the gunsmith I take it (?)

[RedScare]

Not tonight, I didn't.

Not the gunsmith I take it (?)

Now that you mention it, maybe I'll walk up there and see if any cars are in the driveway.

[Porchman]

Now that you mention it, maybe I'll walk up there and see if any cars are in the driveway.

Stay low. Weave.

[Gooch]

Friday night fireworks at MinuteMaid park? I definately heard them, but don't remember what time...

Edited July 11, 2009 by Gooch

[RedScare]

I think it was a false alarm. There were a couple of vehicles at the gunsmith and the door was open. Talked to a couple of cops at Valero and they didn't have anything either. If it had been the real deal, someone would have called in the body in the street by now.

I hear the gunsmith all the time, so hearing gunfire doesn't usually concern me, but these shots were not as muffled as I normally hear (the gunsmith fires into a barrel, muffling the sound). Oh well, hope I didn't frighten any of the more skittish Heights posters.

[Porchman]

I hear the gunsmith all the time, so hearing gunfire doesn't usually concern me, but these shots were not as muffled as I normally hear (the gunsmith fires into a barrel, muffling the sound). Oh well, hope I didn't frighten any of the more skittish Heights posters.

We only went to DEFCON 3 in Heights Annex.

[RedScare]

We only went to DEFCON 3 in Heights Annex.

Probably never even left your porch, did you?

[heights_yankee]

geesh, red. thanks for the false alarm. i started to pack my things and get ready for a move to the northwest side... but then i saw on the news that Copperfield has had a 106% increase in crime in the last couple of months. thank god for the inner city.

[Porchman]

Probably never even left your porch, did you?

No, but I had my rocks ready.

[ricco67]

Maybe you guys should set up your own little twitter accounts and read them from your phones, so you can do these in real time instead of tapping them out on a computer.

[EMME]

I came back from walking my dog about that time, but I am up on 25th at N. Main. Anyway, a police car heading north went tearing by, siren blazing. Moments later I heard what sounded like gunshots, return gunshots and more gunshots. I completely forgot about it until I read this post. Don't know what it was, but I didn't see anything in the news about it. I will check with some of my PIP friends.

[Pumapayam]

No, but I had my rocks ready.

And that only makes sense because I read the other thread.

Funny Porchman.

[IronTiger]

Maybe someone stepped into someone else's lawn.

[Porchman]

An article in the Houston Chronicle about this issue:

http://www.houstonar...showtopic=20813

I think you meant this...

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2009_4763149

[Mr. Chenevert]

APX came through our neighborhood this weekend. He didnt seem pushy at all, but I did cut him off after a minute or two, told him I already was under contract with another provider and was not looking to switch. He asked when the contract expired, I told him, and he was off to the next house.

[outback]

Our kiddo woke up about that time and said there were 'pops' outside. We didn't hear a thing though.

[ashleybear]

Truthfully, it wouldn't surprise me if it were the workers or one of their buddies. I know that's horrible to say, but it's the world we live in.

Additionally, very soon after this attempted break in our neighbors down a block (closer to Travis) had their car broken into around 4 or 5AM but were scared off by their dog barking like mad so didn't get anything but an iPod shuffle, I believe.

Edited July 13, 2009 by ashleybear

[Scott08]

Yesterday, after almost 20 uneventful years in the neighborhood, I had someone break into my North Norhill home. Thanks to an alert neighbor, an alarm, and a big dog, it was a quick in and out by the thief with nothing missing. As I was leaving my house early for work, I had noticed a 30ish Hispanic male in blue jeans and white tshirt walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Don't usually see anyone but other neighbors out in the morning so I took a look back when I got to the corner. He was still walking and didn't appear to be looking at me so I went on about my business. Got to work and my neighbor called 20 minutes later to tell me she heard my dog barking and glass breaking, called 911 and the officers were there in just two minutes. The half window in my kitchen back door was broken. The door is double deadbolted, but you have to actually enter the house to set off the alarm, so apparently the thief crawled in, and when the siren started and the dog started going nuts, made a hasty retreat. Neither my neighbor or the police saw anyone running from the scene and there were no unaccounted for cars seen nearby. In the aftermath, two other neighbors reported seeing the same male walking up and down the street both before and after I left, so it seems almost certain that the guy I saw was walking around, waiting for someone to leave, and an opportunity. The police officer called me, waited for me to return home, and then with backup went in and cleared my house to make double sure no one was hiding inside. This really sucks. It's been almost 30 years since I've experienced a personal theft and it just reams me that there are people like this out there. I am thankful that I live on a block where most people know and look out for each other, and the police response was great. The epilogue to this story is that another house, across the street and two doors down, had a window broken on their front porch yesterday at 3:00 PM! I would like to believe no one could be so bold as to return to the same street after almost getting caught to try a different house on the same day, but who knows. There was someone home there and as soon as the window was broken, their alarm sounded but they didn't see anyone either. All I can say is do your part. Alarms really do seem to help, watch for anyone or anything suspicious, get a dog, and do meet your neighbors.