Neighbors wake up to find their tires, rims missing

HOUSTON – Imagine waking up at the crack of dawn and not only seeing your car on blocks, but then looking across the street and seeing your neighbor with the same problem?

Unfortunately, some Forest Pines residents didn't have to imagine anything, it was all too real.

"All my wheels were gone and my truck was sitting on blocks," said James Ortiz, who lives on De Lange Lane.

The situation with his truck forced Ortiz to call out of work.

"It's really inconvenient and we can't go anywhere because my mom's car is stuck," Ortiz said.

"You feel violated, obviously," said Frankie Reyes, who lives on Verdome Ln. Across the street from Reyes, his mother had her tires stolen as well.

Some of the action was captured on surveillance video around 3 a.m. One neighbor's cameras caught three slow-moving silhouettes walking down the block on Verdome.

The three men approach the house with the camera pointed at them, tried to steal the tires, but were unsuccessful. At one point, one of them moves the camera to focus on some bushes. They eventually drive off in a van.

On a different camera, at a different house on Viking Drive you see one of the men try to steal the tires off another truck. He was unsuccessful that time as well.

When the sun came up today the disappointment set in.

"Well, I hope it doesn't happen to any other neighbors," Reyes said, " and hopefully they can find the individuals that did this," Reyes said.

This was an expensive loss for people in this subdivision.

For example, Ortiz's tires were about $1,500 and his rims were an additional $500 to $600, he said. Ortiz has insurance, but he said it will still cost him $500 to get new tires.

The Houston Police Department is investigating