Beer burglar hits homes in Friendswood

Several garages broken into, alcohol stolen

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas – A beer burglar seems to be on the prowl in Friendswood after several homes have had the refrigerators in their garages raided.

"Are they that desperate for a beer?" said Greg Shell, who had about eight beers stolen from his garage. "The beer is irrelevant at this point; it's the fact that someone is in my area when they shouldn't be."

Friendswood police said a home on Oak Hollow Drive and a couple of homes on Martina had beer stolen. The same crime was a problem last summer. More than a half dozen homes had beer stolen. One homeowner even had his car vandalized and another had his garbage cans set on fire.

In January, police arrested a 19-year-old Friendswood man and charged him with the theft. They said it's unclear if these recent cases are related but they are investigating.

Residents are taking this recent round of thefts seriously because they fear this petty crime could lead to something worse.

"I'm surprised it started up again," Shell said. "Where we live, you don't typically have problems like this."