Plano neighbors are sharing a photo taken by a home surveillance system of a man who rang the front doorbell at a West Plano home Friday night but ran when the resident turned lights on inside.
Two other homes were burglarized nearby the same night according to homeowners, who are sharing information with each other about the string of burglaries.
“Well I think everybody’s concerned,” said resident Sherry Howard. “There’s been quite a bit of activity from our neighborhood homeowners association and individual homeowners and whatnot and they have advised people to be on the lookout.”
Resident Joe Dunkel now keeps a shotgun under his bed after his home was broken into a year ago.
He was away at the time but he said burglars need to know that many Plano residents have armed themselves in this rash of burglary.
“If you hear them, answer, because they’re coming in,” Dunkel said. “If you say ‘Well, I’m here but I’m doing something,’ then they’ll go to your neighbor’s house.”
Plano Officer David Tilley said the new cases bring the count to at least 30 burglaries in Plano since October and they may be related to other recent burglaries in North Dallas. A suspect was arrested for some of the cases in December but break-ins continued. Many of the break-ins targeted master bedrooms and fine jewelry.
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Tilley said Plano police boosted patrols in the affected neighborhoods but officers can’t be everywhere. He said the 50 Plano officers on duty at most times have 71 square miles and 67,000 houses to watch.
So police asked Plano homeowners associations to promote crime watch efforts and consider citizen patrols.
Some neighbors believe police should be doing more to stop the crime spree.
“I need to see the police,” resident Shari Karge said. “Right now, this is a heightened issue. I need to see police presence.”
Monday night, members of the Glen Heather Homeowners Association gathered to discuss concerns and how to stop the rash of burglaries spreading in the western part of the city.
“There are several people patrolling the alleys nightly,” explained homeowner Kelly Karras.
During the meeting, neighbors would become more familiar with who was doing the patrolling.
They’re also planning on installing a surveillance system in the alleys of the Glen Heather neighborhood to catch any creep breaking into homes.
The alleys are believed to be the area the suspects are using to get into homes.
NBC 5's Ray Villeda contributed to this report.
