PEARLAND, Texas – More than a dozen car break-ins in the Southern Trails neighborhood of Pearland have left residents feeling unsafe.
"It's been happening every day, it seems like, for the last two months" said Johnathan Flerchinger.
Flerchinger has surveillance cameras in front of his home and they recorded a man walking around and looking into cars with a flashlight at 1:15 a.m. Other people in the neighborhood reported seeing a man in some backyards. It's unclear if it's the same person.
"They've graduated from breaking into cars to breaking into backyards," Flerchinger said.
Pearland police told Local 2 from July 1 through September 16, there have been 18 reported car break-ins in the neighborhood. Most of them happen on Wednesdays, followed by Saturday and Sunday. Police have two officers assigned to that area and they are investigating.
Flerchinger said he thinks there have been more than 18 break-ins; those are just the people who reported the crimes to the police. He believes there have been more than 50.
"Every weekend, some people are multiple times. They've been hit more than once," he said. "It's getting worse."
Christina Besa was a victim. Her Honda Pilot was broken into while it was parked in her backyard behind a locked gate.
What's even scarier, she said, is her vehicle was locked and the alarm was set. She's certain of it, she has a sophisticated system that alerts her if it's left unlocked or worse yet, if it gets broken into.
"They probably used a device to disable the alarm of the cars," Besa said.
The whole situation has residents on edge, the thought of someone lurking around at night. They wonder what's next.
"I've armed myself, I've armed my wife," said Flerchinger. "I'm teaching my 11-year-old son to shoot as well."