HUMBLE, Texas – A man who has trouble walking because of a medical condition blames new management at a Humble apartment complex for a close call with an intruder.
Vernon Reed, 49, said he had to crawl to retrieve his gun from an armoire when a would-be intruder broke a bedroom window.
"I would think if they had a more heightened sense of awareness as to what went on here stuff like this wouldn't go on here," Reed said.
Reed said he believes new management at the Bender Hollow apartment complex at 424 S. Bender is inattentive to security issues at the complex. At least one other apartment dweller agreed.
"They are new to the complex and I have not seen a presence of them at all," resident Lean Dickerson said.
Reed said he was not injured during the March 12 incident. The culprit must have left as he was on the phone with police from the floor of his bedroom, he surmised.
His chief complaint, echoed by Dickerson, is that the front gate remains open and accessible at all hours, a common occurrence at apartment complexes across the Houston area.
Bender Hollow property manager Jose Robles told Local 2 the gate does function correctly but is left open during the day.
Reed disputes that claim, maintaining the gate remains open at all hours.
Robles would not speak further about the front gate or other security measures other than to say a corporate representative with HM Equity Management LLC would contact us. By late afternoon, Friday, we had not received a call.
Humble police report 85 calls for service at 424 S. Bender since March 15, 2012. Not every call for service resulted in an actual crime being committed.
No burglaries, robberies or murders were reported at the address during that time period, according to information provided by the Humble Police Department. One sexual assault was recorded, and 10 calls for criminal mischief and suspicious activity were noted.