Katy Burglar Suspect Killed, Crazy Day in the 'burbs

My mom lives in Katy, around Greenhouse and I-10. About a month ago burglars broke into her house and preceded to ransack, plunder, and generally **** up our house. They didn't get off with much because we don't keep much of value in the house. They did take my childhood piggy bank that had a few hundred dollars in coins and spare bills. They stole some jewelery and other valuables but I bet they were disappointed with their overall haul.

My first concern was obviously my mom's safety. I never locked the door to my car or the house when I lived there. I used to joke to my mom that "stealing isn't real, its a myth perpetuated by that left wing liberal media" in a nice paranoid country bumpkin voice. Joking aside, its the suburbs... what is there really to worry about?

My concern was never about the stuff they broke or stole, it was the fact that some weirdo(s) was inside my house... looking at our pictures... walking through our rooms... access to our bills, ss#'s, records... There is something very unsettling about strange men going through the house where your mother sleeps. Its infuriating that not even the money I put in my piggy banks in my room is safe; simultaneously, who cares about a few dollars when the safety of your family is suddenly under question?

My mom immediately activated our built-in security system that had never been used. While disturbed something like this could happen, I was able to rationalize the event as "they just wanted cash, they didn't come to hurt her. It was a random event. She will be okay." I never had any hope that they would catch these guys because, come on, its suburb cops! They would fill out there little worthless bureaucratic forms and we would never see our stuff again.

Then this happened.

Suspect Killed, Deputy Wounded In Shootout
2 Burglary Suspects Arrested
POSTED: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
UPDATED: 4:57 pm CDT May 19, 2010
HOUSTON -- Harris County Precinct 5 deputy constables fatally shot a burglary suspect during a shootout that left a deputy injured, officials told KPRC Local 2.

Detectives said the shootout happened in the 500 block of Woodcastle Bend on Wednesday at about 10:30 a.m.

Investigators said neighbors called 911 after seeing an SUV back up to a home with the doors wide open.

A few minutes later, deputy constables arrived and spotted three burglary suspects, officials said.

Two of them were taken into custody, but a third ran, according to authorities.

"Forty minutes later, one of our sergeants was checking a home in the area. Walking up a driveway between two brick homes and he was ambushed by the suspect. And he was fired upon," Precinct 5 Assistant Chief J.J. Laine said.
A shootout that lasted for two or three minutes followed, officials said.

The suspect was shot and killed.

The deputy constable was grazed by a bullet. His injury was described as minor. Laine said the bullet could have ricocheted off a home.

"(There were) about 15 to 20 gunshots, then multiple screeching of police cars," witness Keenan Baker said. "I didn't even know what to think -- a bunch of gunshots going off in the suburbs of Katy. It's not very often that that happens."

The suspects' names were not released.

Early Video
A clearer picture of what happened
Link to Article

Holy **** !


Following our burglary, the police told us that there had been a string of robberies in our neighborhood. All of them appeared to have been planned out ahead because there were similarities in all the cases (no animals, single working parents gone during the day, one story home, other details i can't remember)

Watching that news video is surreal. It is possible that it was not the same guys, but the details suggest it was. This shootout took place two streets over from our home... the house they were burglarizing looks identical to our house and shares the same floor plan... the description fits in with the other robberies... and other details I can share later.

So what is there to say? I underestimated the cops in our area. The officer that caught the burglars today responded in only 7 minutes. They continued their search until they found the third suspect. There was a huge shootout with (supposedly) 20 shots fired and the cops killed the suspect! The officer that was wounded is fine. Pretty impressive for cops that seemingly don't see much action day-to-day out in the suburbs.

Sorry for the shoddy writing but I pumped this note out pretty fast. I am still stunned. So in summation... HELL YA

 

forgot to check back on this thread, but now i'm back bearing new details.

The string of robberies were committed by two brothers. They were so successful that their cousin started badgering them to let him in on the deal. Against their better judgement (this guy was a real gang banger while the brothers have records that indicate only petty thief) they let him join their next "run".

So they pull up to the house, turn their suv around, and back up the driveway. A neighbor sees this and calls the cops. When the cop arrives, she orders the three to the ground. The two brothers drop to the ground while their cousin books it around the corner.

The cousin, armed and ready to "keep it real", hides behind an air conditioner waiting in ambush. Eventually another cop searching for him turns the corner and there is a meeting of the minds. The cousin's mind ends up spread across the driveway while the cop is only nicked by a bullet.

I ended my first post without making a point, so to make this thread relevant:
What is there to be learned from all of this? That no place is untouchable and you should always be on the lookout? Or am I taking this anecdotal event and painting an idea that is too broad? Isn't just as possible that the next ten years of my mom's neighborhood will be just like the ten before this incident, basically void of any of the tragedy that touches neighborhoods in southwest houston every day?