A burglar who has hit 18 homes in Old East Dallas since March 22 could be the same crook that burglarized about seven homes in the same area last year.
Police say the burglar usually enters through unlocked doors or windows, but has broken in on some occasions.
Most of the victims are women living alone, and the burglar enters while they are home asleep, usually between midnight and 6 a.m. He strikes homes in the area bounded by Gaston, Fitzhugh, Columbia and Munger.
This burglar has a similar M.O. as the guy who targeted the same area last year.
“Most likely, they are going to be related crimes,” says Deputy Chief Vincent Golbeck of DPD’s Central Division. “Those crimes stopped suddenly, and we suspect the individual could’ve been arrested on something else and done some jail time.”
The burglar last year sometimes would wake people up, and in a couple of instances, attacked his victims, but that hasn’t happened in recent burglaries, Golbeck says.
“The individual is definitely scared off by the complainants,” he says. “If they see him, dogs barking, alarms going off. He is not sticking around.”
Golbeck asks that neighbors be on the lookout for any suspicious activity and to call 911 if anyone seems out of place.
“Sometimes we get our best information from suspicious person calls,” he says. “We are using different tactics now to get this guy. It’s very frustrating, so we need everyone to be on the lookout.”