Houston police are now searching for a group of men believed to be connected to at least five burglaries.
The announcement came at a town hall meeting on Thursday.
Houston Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Ban Tien said they’re looking for up to five Hispanic men driving an older model Chrysler minivan with paper tags.
“We have high level of confidence that they have been committed by a crew, particularly targeting the Asian temples especially around Lunar’s New Year, because they believe that they have cash in those temples,” Tien said.
Attorney Thuy Le, who represents The Culture of Golden Heart Association Temple, says the temple was targeted at the end of February.
“They had finished a big celebration,” Le said. “That Sunday my clients and the nuns and the monks had left for the day. They came back the next day and the temple had been ransacked. Flowerpots had been knocked down. The money boxes had been pried open.”
At the town hall, several community members shared their discomfort in speaking with police.
“The nuns are mostly elderly, and they’re very afraid,” one attendant said. “For the temple to have activity they have to open, but now because she has so many incidents—she said just a couple of days ago, they drive a big truck and hit the gate.”
A Dickinson man said their temple was targeted last weekend and hopes HPD can investigate if there is any connection with the recent burglaries.
“If you take your time and drive from Dickinson, you’re probably an hour away, so you have my commitment,” Tien told the man. “I will call the jurisdiction to assist in the case. We’ll look into it, perhaps maybe it’s linked to our case, we don’t know.”
Le, who attended the town hall, said she’s hopeful investigators will bridge the cultural gap between police and community members.
“I’m going to hold them accountable to everything that they promised this community [and] my client about how things are going to change, bridge that gap between the community. [The community] is going to be fixed,” she said.