WEBSTER, Texas – Vehicle burglars in Webster are targeting restaurant customers while they eat, investigators said.
Police said thieves have already broken into cars outside the Twin Peaks and Hooters restaurants along the Gulf Freeway. The most recent cases happened Monday.
"(In one case) they punched the lock, and in the second they broke windows to gain access," Webster Assistant Police Chief Thomas Claunch said.
Carolyn Gibbone said she knows what it's like to walk up to her car and discover the windows shattered and personal items missing.
"This is a bad area for that. We've had our car broken into several times right here," said Gibbone, who lives in the area. "I've had two stereos stolen from cars here."
Webster police said the crooks case parking lots, watching people leave their vehicles. Then they walk up to the windows to see what valuable possessions have been left on the seats or floor board, police said.
"These are crimes of opportunity. Anything they can pawn. If you don't want it stolen, don't leave it in the vehicle," Claunch said.
It's a simple lesson that, police said, some people ignore out of convenience or habit. But others said they are taking steps because they don't want to become the next victim.
"I just lock my car and I take things and put them up so they're not showing," Gibbone said.
Investigators said it's possible that the vehicle break-ins are related because both happened during lunchtime.
anyone with information is asked to call Webster police at 281-332-2426.