Plano police reported Thursday a total of three arrests in a rash of around 30 burglaries since October, but investigators believe more burglars are still on the prowl.
A 17-year-old helped police capture the third suspect Wednesday afternoon.
Plano West High School senior Riashat Ishmam was home alone about 3 p.m. when he said a man rang his doorbell twice.
Ishmam ignored it, thinking the visitor would just leave, but instead the man came in through a window.
“I start freaking out,” Ishmam said. “I grab my phone, quickly run to my parents’ bedroom, lock the door, hide in my parents’ bathroom and I call 911.”
Ishmam said the man rummaged around in the master bedroom, just feet away from his hiding place, but the suspect left without finding him and police arrived outside to arrest the man just in time.
Police said Farhoood Sani Allahdadi, 28, may be responsible for some of the other unsolved Plano burglaries.
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“We’re looking at that,” said Plano Police Officer David Tilley. “We don’t have anything at this point to say he definitely is associated with any other cases, but we have not finished looking completely into that yet.”
Tilley said burglars may think it is safe to break in if no one responds to a doorbell.
“We recommend you answer the door. Now, I’m not saying open the door. But answer it. At least let whoever is at the door know that somebody is home,” he said.
For the first time Thursday, Tilley confirmed a second Plano burglary suspect was arrested in December.
William Paul McGinnis, 38, was arrested Dec. 18. Tilley said McGinnis is believed to be responsible for four Plano burglaries.
Randall Dean Kirk, 51, was arrested earlier in December. Tilley said Kirk is connected with at least six Plano burglaries, and investigators from other nearby cities are reviewing cases that could also be tied to Kirk.
But Tilley said the 11 cases tied to the three suspects still leave around 20 for which other suspects may be responsible.
“The reason is because the M.O.'s that they used were all different, and none of those M.O.'s are matching up with other M.O.’s that we’re actually having,” Tilley said.
Many of the burglaries were committed between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. just after residents had left their homes. Windows were broken to gain entry.
“There’s still burglars out there and we’re working hard,” Tilley said. “We have lot of plans set forth to try to catch these guys, but they’re still out there and people have to continue to be our eyes and our ears and call in the suspicious activity.”
Ishmam’s father, Monzoor Choudhury, said he is relieved that his son was not harmed.
“I feel really good and also really happy the Plano Police Department, you know, they respond right away,” Choudhury said.
