The thieves weren't into breaking and entering. They preferred peeping and entering.
Carrollton Police arrested 25 year-old Calvin Allen and 28 year-old Jeremy Garner in connection with a burglary ring that may have stolen thousands of dollars in electronics in several North Texas cities. Detectives think as many as 40 different apartments were burglarized in a four month period in Carrollton and Lewisville.
But it was a simple piece of hardware that helped police tie the crimes together.
Investigators at several of the apartments noticed that the peepholes on doors were unscrewed.
"This is a pretty extensive burglary ring," Carrollton Detective Jeremy Chevallier said. "Sometimes they would hit two times a week, three times a week.It all depended on what they were after."
By unscrewing the peepholes, the suspected burglars were able to get a direct look inside apartments and look for valuables.
"Most of the burglaries took place during daytime hours. So they would remove the peephole and look inside. If they didn't see anyone moving around after they knocked the first time, then that would give them the all clear to try and break in the door," Chevallier said.
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Carrollton investigators followed some of the suspects to a South Dallas swap meet and found out the thieves were selling the stolen goods to another man.
Police say the man knew he was buying stolen goods and tried to sell the items as fast as possible. Investigators didn't release the buyer's name, but said he was arrested for knowingly buying stolen goods.
Investigators in both Lewisville and Carrollton are working to find other suspects who might be part of the crime ring.
