LUMBERTON, Texas — A neighborhood in Lumberton experienced a series of car break-ins, leaving residents with stolen money, checks and even firearms.
It happened on Friday, October 28th in the early morning hours.
Lumberton police tells 12News a man wearing a black hoodie hit a number of homes on White Oak Drive, rummaging through vehicles looking to find anything to take.
All of these vehicles were left unlocked, according to Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins.
One of the vehicles belongs to Austin Talbot, who said he was fortunate enough to have had a camera recording.
"There aren't many people with cameras or anything out here. I was one of the fortunate ones who was able to catch them and hopefully it will help with people getting their stuff back.," he said.
Talbot says it's a feeling of shock that something like this happened in this quiet area. He says it could have been a lot worse.
"People that had their checks taken out, everything to firearms, and we are fortunate enough to have something to go off of," he said.
A total of 4 reports were made and Chief Sullins feels there were probably even more left unreported. Two of the reports the department has are on theft of firearms and the other 2 are burglary of a motor vehicle.
Chief Sullins wants to remind the community that these crimes are preventable.
"We see this quite often people rolling through neighborhoods and pulling on car doors. We strongly encourage residents before they go to bed at night to lock those doors," he said.
Police are currently looking for a suspected vehicle and encourage people to call if they see any suspicious behavior.
"Right now we are looking for what looks like a probably a Chevrolet SUV, not a Tahoe or a Suburban, but we are looking at something a little smaller than that. Detectives are actively working this case," Sullins said.
Even though burglars targeted the Talbot home, they still feel safe with the community they built.
"This is a place where you can go walking, and stuff you don't gotta worry about nobody messing with you. It's pretty safe, as safe as it's gonna get," Talbot said.
These crimes are classified as a Class A Misdemeanor and can warrant up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.