With police reports showing burglaries are on the rise here in central parts of the Basin, a local Sheriff says crime is creeping eastward into his county.
Glasscock County Sheriff Keith Burnett says his department reports 11 car break-ins and one car stolen Thursday night.
He says this is a rare type of crime that has him and his department doing their best to make sure justice is served.
“I’ve been here going on 16 years. Probably 12 years ago we had pick-up that was stolen other than that we have never had any vehicles stolen, and none really that have ever been broken into.” says Burnett.
The stolen car belongs to Garden City local Irene Colunga. She says the event of waking up and not seeing her car outside her home was an emotional one.
The 2007 red Mustang was a Christmas gift from her husband Arturo who recently passed away due to a battle with cancer.
She says although the recent crimes are bothersome she hasn’t lost hope for the community she loves.
“I’ve lived here all my life and nothing like this has ever happened, and I don’t think it will happen again. I think this was just a one-time thing, maybe someone had a bad night or something, but I still feel safe.” Says Colunga.
Sheriff Burnett says he’s not wasting any time in responding.
He called Midland’s DPS helicopter unit to fly over the county to find to search for the missing car.
Locals say it’s this fast act to justice that have them proud of their county’s law enforcement.
“I know he’s brought the DPS helicopter here once or twice before, so it’s good that we have somebody that is on top of things as well as his deputies.” Says Garden City resident Larry Bradford
The Sheriff has this message for anyone involved in the crimes he says are stealing the peace from the county he protects.
“You’re freedom is nearly over, we’ll catch you before it’s over and you won’t have your freedom anymore.” Says Burnett.
The Sheriff’s department has surveillance footage of some of the burglaries, and they’re confident they have enough evidence to find the criminals behind these crimes. They have strong leads as to who committed the burglary spree.
(Information from YourBasin.com)
