On today’s date (12-01-17), at approximately 12:50am, officers were called to the area of South Water Lane and Seascape Lane (in the Morningside Drive/Schmidt Ave. area) for a report of several suspicious males dressed in all black that were on foot in the area.
Officers responded to the area and located a juvenile male who was in the act of burglarizing a vehicle in the driveway of a residence in the 2800 block of Seascape Lane. A second male juvenile was found hiding along the side of that residence, and two additional male juveniles were located across the street attempting to hide from officers.
All four of the juveniles were wearing bandanas around their neck as a makeshift facemask to potentially conceal their identity, and some of the juveniles were wearing gloves and/or carrying flashlights. Although these items alone are not considered contraband, when combined with the intent to commit a crime (i.e. burglarize vehicles) they constitute Unlawful Use of a Criminal Instrument (Class B Misdemeanor – TPC 16.01). All four juvenile males (all 15 years old) were detained, processed, and transported to the Guadalupe County Juvenile Detention Center. Due to a recent rash of vehicle burglaries in that same area, additional charges against the juveniles may be pending.
The New Braunfels Police Department would like to commend the vigilance of the residents in the Mockingbird Heights subdivision and surrounding neighborhoods for keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. And NBPD would also like to take the opportunity to remind all residents to remember the LOCK, TAKE, and HIDE method of avoiding becoming a victim of vehicle burglary. Always remember to LOCK your vehicle, TAKE valuables inside, or at least HIDE valuables from plain sight. For more about this program and the NBPD’s Neighborhood Crime Watch program, log on to the NBPD website at http://www.nbtexas.org/police