Susan and John Chase had just moved back to Dallas.
They started the day as usual, but at about 11:15 a.m., there was a strange twist.
“We went out to work,” Susan Chase says. “Then later on in the morning I got a call at work to identify our belongings. My husband went to the local police station and got everything back.”
Three thieves had stolen their 46-inch HDTV and other electronics and did some damage to their gate and back door. However, the big surprise was on the thieves.
One of the Chases’ neighbors was at home when she noticed three men knocking on doors to see who was home and who wasn’t. When the men knocked on her door, she answered, and the three men ran away.
“She thought it was suspicious and she called the police,” Susan says. “The police sent an unmarked patrol car to patrol the neighborhood. The policeman observed the men coming out of my house to the alley, and watched them load the electronic goods into their car.”
According to Lt. Gloria Perez, officers were working in the neighborhood when they heard the call regarding this suspicious activity come over the radio. With a little cooperation between the officers, they were able to perform a routine traffic stop, apprehend the culprits, and recover the Chases’ belongings.
“We just brought everything back and plugged everything back in,” Susan says.
The total value of the equipment was just under $5,000.
“We got it all back,” Susan says. “They even had other people’s things. They must have been looking for a job because they even had their resumes in the car.”
One of the thieves even helped himself to the Chases’ refrigerator and left an empty bottle of Shiner Bock on the kitchen counter.
Susan Chase appreciated the way the police handled the situation because she had never before been the victim of crime.
“We had just moved in four weeks ago after living in Austin,” Susan says, explaining that her husband, John, recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin Law School. “I asked the officer if this happens all the time, and he told me I shouldn’t feel bad, and it was a great neighborhood.”
Lt. Perez says that the Chases should be thankful for their alert neighbor.
“It is not only nice to have nosy neighbors, it is a tremendous help to law enforcement. Without nosy neighbors, it would be difficult to clear offenses,” she says.
