Surveillance cameras across the Brookforest subdivision in Clear Lake have been capturing a man sifting through cars for months.
Neighbor Keith Gaines was one of the people who noticed it when he looked at his security footage.
“I woke up 5 a.m. to a notification on my security camera that something happened at about 1 a.m., so I reviewed the footage,” he said.
Upon reviewing the footage, Gaines said he saw a man checking to see if Gaines' cars were locked. When they weren't, he looked inside for valuables.
“I have a very long driveway so it was already an infringement upon my privacy," Gaines said. "To walk up to my driveway, into our yard, and then go rifle through our things was very violating."
Other neighbors have been alerted to a man with a similar description rifling through the contents of the cars parked in their driveways. The man was seen trying to get into two cars in the middle of the night. In one case, he got away with a victim's wallet.
Dep. Jeffrey McCulloch with Harris County Precinct 8 Constable's Office says last Monday, Houston police informed them of the arrest of 29-year-old Christopher Roe, who is the suspect in a rash of burglaries that began in early summer. McCulloch says after burglarizing a car on Havenhurst Drive, Roe along with a female, were caught getting into a car by HPD at the intersection of Pineloch Drive and Space Center Boulevard.
Roe has an extensive criminal background that was highlighted during his first court appearance Monday. Roe was previously convicted of burglary of a motor vehicle and burglary of habitation and was previously sentenced to eight years in prison.
McCulloch says law enforcement patrols have been increased in the area but advises that people should be more vigilant.
“You are not ever going to be 100% safe of burglaries, but you can help cut those opportunities down by locking your vehicles,” said McCulloch.