Neighborhood Worries About Increasing Crime

By Elizabeth Scarborough

POSTED: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 UPDATED: 6:41 am CST February 11, 2009

HOUSTON — The Eaglewood neighborhood in northeast Fort Bend County looks peaceful by day, people even leave their garage doors open. But when the sun goes down, neighbors said the crimes are getting more and more common, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

"They broke it here … my van was here," said Harshad Patel. He is one of about 10 people who have recently had their cars broken into right in their driveways, according to neighbors.

"They opened my backpack; couldn’t find anything and threw it away," he said.

Santiago Zamora said his son was another victim.

"I got him a car for school and they stole his battery," said Zamora, who said he bought a new battery and has wrapped wire around it to make it harder for crooks if they try again. "They come through here and break into cars and steal whatever they can. It’s getting bad around here."

So bad that one woman, whose house was broken into, was too scared to talk on camera.

Other neighbors said they believe the same "kids" are responsible, and it could be some sort of gang initiation.

One neighbor agreed to talk if we protected his identity. His said his car was stolen and he believes it was only taken for a joyride.

"Basically, the car was totaled," he said. "You don’t expect it to happen to you, and when it does, it’s shocking."

Neighbors gathered for an impromptu meeting Tuesday night.

"We cannot stop crime, but we can try to deter it," said one resident.

Several said they are looking at getting surveillance cameras on their homes. They’re also talking about adding more lights to the neighborhood and making their fences higher.