BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont Police have been busy after a reported uptick in burglaries since Hurricane Laura forced thousands of people to evacuate from Southeast Texas counties.
In a news release on Wednesday, police said several people have been arrested in connection with several burglaries at Beaumont homes and businesses.
Early on Thursday, August 27, police were called to JJ's Pawn Shop on College St. about a burglary in progress. Officers were able to recover 'numerous firearms' the suspect tried to steal according to the release.
Later that morning, around 6 a.m., officers say they saw Roy Brantley walking near Victoria and Washington with a large suitcase. The area was under a curfew, and he was stopped and allegedly found to have stolen items from a nearby house.
He was arrested and charged with burglary with an enhancement due to a disaster declaration.
Around 11 a.m., officers were sent to a house that was being broken into in the 2600 block of St. Helena. The homeowner wasn't home and was watching a suspect on video surveillance breaking into the house according to the release. The suspect was a juvenile, and was caught inside. He had previously been arrested for aggravated robbery.
Detectives are also filing burglary charges on a suspect who was arrested for an outstanding parole warrant related to a previous burglary.
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From a Beaumont Police Department news release:
Having your home or business burglarized is a traumatic event and officers of the Beaumont Police Department want the community to know that we are working tirelessly on solving these crimes. Officers have made numerous arrests for Burglaries committed over the past several weeks. Recently, the department has documented an increase in residential and commercial Burglaries, overall however, reports for these crimes are down 16% as compared to last year at this time.
On Thursday, August 27th in the early morning hours, officers responded to a burglary alarm at JJ’s Pawn shop located at 5640 College St. Officers quickly arrived and were able to interrupt a burglary in progress. Officers recovered numerous firearms that the suspect tried to steal.
On Thursday, August 27th at 6:00 a.m., officers observed Roy Brantley, age 37 from Beaumont, carrying a large suitcase in the area of Victoria and Washington during a curfew. Brantley was stopped and found to be in possession of stolen property from a residence nearby that was just burglarized. He was arrested and charged with Burglary, with an enhancement due to a disaster declaration.
On Thursday, August 27th at 11:10 a.m., officers were dispatched to 2680 St. Helena in reference to the homeowner, who was not there, watching a suspect on video surveillance break into their home. Officers arrived and were able to catch the burglar inside the residence. The suspect was identified as a juvenile, whose last arrest was for Aggravated Robbery.
Detectives are also working on filing additional Burglary charges on a suspect who was arrested last week for an outstanding parole warrant related to a previous Burglary.
If you have any information in reference any burglary we urge you to contact the Beaumont Police Department at 409-832-1234 or you can remain anonymous by contacting Southeast Texas Crime Stoppers at 409-833-TIPS (8477).