Monitoring company worker helps police catch thieves

An alert employee of an alarm monitoring company helped Arlington police catch a group of thieves in the act.

The teens were breaking into cars at an apartment complex while their bad behavior was all caught on camera.

The recognition is the result of a private and public partnership. There's also a message, and police hope it serves as a warning to anybody trying to take advantage of others.

Investigators say one boy and two girls are seen on surveillance video checking door handles and actually getting inside a vehicle to look for things to steal. Some who live nearby are relieved and hope the arrests send a warning.

The video was recorded by Stealth Monitoring. On April 20, an employee with the company spotted the three thieves and then kept up with their whereabouts and got police to the scene promptly. It ultimately led to the arrests.

"We were able to quickly get there, and she was able to provide a vehicle description,” said Arlington Police Spokesperson Karen Standback. “And when officers arrived, we were able to stop the vehicle and they were actually in a stolen car."

Investigators say officers recovered stolen property from several car break-ins that night.

On Thursday afternoon, the police department formally recognized the alert monitoring company employee, Lisa Cantu, for her actions.

"It’s just kind of indicative of what's going on and how people are today,” Cantu said. “They don't think anybody's watching them. They don't think anybody can see what they're doing."

But Cantu was watching. Police say she gave officers an advantage.