18-year-old arrested in Rowlett for dozens of car burglaries
ROWLETT, Texas - Police have arrested an 18-year-old man believed to be responsible for dozens of car break-ins in a northwest Rowlett neighborhood.
Rowlett Car Burglaries
The backstory:
Cpl. Jaqueline Vergara with the Rowlett Police Department said the break-ins started in late December.
"Although the incidents briefly stopped, they picked back up on the nights of Feb. 1 and Feb. 2, leaving seven burglarized vehicles," she said.
On Tuesday, the police department shared photos of a suspect and asked for help identifying him.
Rowlett car burglar returns from hiatus, hits 6 vehicles in 1 weekend
Do you recognize this person? Police say he's been breaking into cars in northwest Rowlett neighborhoods since late December.
What's new:
Cpl. Vergara said thanks to tips from the public and the dedicated work of the investigators, police were able to identify the suspect as 18-year-old Ulysses Flowers.
They obtained a warrant to search his home and then took him into custody on Wednesday morning.
Ulysses Flowers (Rowlett PD)
Flowers is now linked to at least 42 burglaries that all occurred within walking distance of his home.
Some of the stolen property was recovered from Flowers’ home, including handbags, IDs, credit cards, and jewelry.
What we don't know:
Police haven’t yet said what charges Flowers will face.
Two other people in his home were arrested on unrelated outstanding warrants, but police did not elaborate on those cases.
What they're saying:
Jennifer McKinney lives nearby and heard Rowlett PD’s SWAT team calling for Flowers to surrender.
Her car was never broken into, but she’s still thankful a suspect was arrested.
"Some of the neighborhood groups, they’ve been talking about the car break-ins recently. A few streets this way. It’s always one or two streets away," she said. "I definitely feel better if that’s what’s been going on that they’ve caught that person because we do park on the street."
Take. Lock. Hide
Big picture view:
Cpl. Vergara said this is the second major car burglary arrest in the city since the fall.
"We had one in September. It was a different suspect that was targeting unlocked vehicles. But this one was not. He was breaking the windows, making entry into the vehicles, and taking belongings," she said.
Rowlett community relieved over car burglary suspect's arrest
A Rowlett community says a 17-year-old has been wreaking havoc on neighbors, and now he's been arrested for multiple burglaries of motor vehicles.
What's next:
Police encouraged residents to continue being vigilant.
"We want to remind the public to lock their vehicles, take all valuables and especially handguns out of the vehicle. And check your cameras. Make sure their charged. Make sure they’re recording because those will help out just in case there’s any incidents," Cpl. Vergara said.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Rowlett Police Department, neighbor interviews, and past news coverage.