Vehicle burglaries on the rise in East Texas, thieves searching for firearms
Posted/updated on: January 10, 2022 at 11:10 am
There has been a rise in vehicle burglaries in East Texas. Criminals are looking for anything they can get their hands on. According to our news partner KETK , the one valuable item they all want are firearms. “There’s nothing worse than you going home or outside to your vehicle in the morning and leave for work and find your car door open,” said Sheriff John Wayne Valdez, Rusk County Sheriff’s Office. According to the Sheriff Valdez, Rusk county had 65 vehicle related thefts in 2021.
None of those crimes involve broken windows. Every single one was because someone’s car was left unlocked. Similar crimes are happening in Van Zandt County. At one point they experienced 55 auto related thefts in a two day period. “They basically went up and if the car was unlocked they got in there under a minute they ransacked the car and moved on to the next one,” says Sheriff Steve Hendrix, Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement is encouraging people to take a picture of their firearms and their serial numbers.
