A burglar in Fort Bend County was caught in early April by a family’s eight surveillance cameras, according to Kens5News.com. The family lives in the Village of Oak Lake subdivision near Sugar Land, according to Kens5, and had the surveillance cameras installed after “someone walked into their house a few months ago.” The cameras showed the thief getting into one of their vehicles, stealing a check, and rummaging through the second car before taking the GPS from that vehicle. The family believes that “he picked the lock on their front door and had one foot in when their alarm scared him off,” according to Kens5. The police are asking for assistance in identifying the man through the use of the security camera footage.
According to SafeGuard Security Systems, a major manufacturer of home alarm systems, 2,000,000 home burglaries are reported each year in the United States. “Homes without security systems are up to 300 percent more likely to be broken into,” according to statistics. Less than 20 percent of homes in the U.S. have security systems, though every 13 seconds a home intrusion is committed.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, “there was an increase of 2 percent in the number of burglaries in 2009 when compared with the 2005 estimate and an increase of 7.2 percent when compared with the 2000 estimate.” The punishment for burglary in Texas, according to the University of TexasCrime and Punishment in Texas document, can range anywhere from life in prison to a $500 fine. Theft of property valued at $200,000 or more carries the weight of a first degree felony, punishable by 5–99 years or life in prison and a $10,000 fine. On the other hand, “theft of property valued at less than $20” is only a Class C misdemeanor.
If you or someone you know is facing sentencing because of an alleged burglary, don’t go through it alone. Contact an experienced Texas criminal defense attorney today.