Surveillance Video Captures Thief Stealing From Truck

Police believe five weekend burglaries connected

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported how many victims did not lock their vehicles or toolboxes. NBC 5 regrets the error.

A surveillance camera recorded one of several vehicle burglaries in a north Fort Worth neighborhood.

Fort Worth police records show five reported break-ins over the weekend in the Tehama Ridge subdivision. Two were on Stoney Gorge Road.

In three cases, the victims did not lock their sport utility vehicles, trucks or toolboxes in truck beds.

Homeowners say similar overnight burglaries have happened on and off for the past two years.

"It's extremely frustrating. We live in an upscale neighborhood," said homeowner Robert Lloyd, who installed surveillance cameras at his house.

One of his cameras caught a man stealing his drills, batteries and hand tools worth several hundred dollars.

The black-and-white video shows a dark-colored Suburban driving around the block. It returns minutes later without its headlights on. The driver parks right outside Lloyd's home, gets out, peeks through the window of the truck in the driveway and steals from his toolbox in the truck bed.

Lloyd said the toolbox isn't lockable and he usually keeps it empty.

Police said they believe four vehicle burglaries this weekend are connected because they all occurred late at night or early in the morning.

Residents said they are cautious and will start writing down the license plates of cars they don't recognize.

"We've at least got something to look for," ;Lloyd said. "If we see that [SUV] around the neighborhood, I mean, I'm stopping him -- whatever it takes."

Lloyd said he and his family are moving to escape the frustration.

"We've just reached our limit with it," he said. "We're just seeking a little more security."

A search of Fort Worth police reports of the Tehama Ridge subdivision going back to April 2010 shows vehicle burglaries in November 2011, July 2011 and December 2010. There were also five overnight burglaries on the same night in May 2011.

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