A streak of 13 burglaries may finally be solved.
By Raif Karerat
Four Houston, Texas men were arrested Oct. 30 and charged in connection with a series of burglaries that targeted victims of Indian and Asian descent.
Police had been collecting home surveillance video evidence relating to a streak of 13 burglaries in College Station that began in September and have continued weekly, leading to more than $1 million in jewelry being stolen.
“Over the past couple of months we’ve had about ten to 15 burglaries of homes that all fit the same M.O.,†said College Station Police Department public information officer Lt. Steve Brock while speaking with The Eagle. “We’ve been collecting evidence in little bits and pieces.â€
Last Friday morning, officers spotted two vehicles connected to the burglaries in the College Station neighborhood. One car was parked near a residence where a burglary had happened transpired that morning.
“We were able to stop one vehicle with three suspects inside, a second vehicle fled from the police officer and ultimately crashed into another vehicle,” Asst. Chief of Police Billy Couch said to KBTX.
The driver of the Saturn, Harold Nunez Murillo, 25, of Houston was taken into custody, as were his car’s passengers, Alex Castillo-Valencia, 24, of Houston, and Helmer Bellaga, 33, of Houston.
Carlos Cordoba, 26, of Houston, was the driver of the Acura, and after receiving medical attention he was also taken into custody. All four men are being held at the Brazos County Detention Center.
“We did have a similar spree of offenses back in 2013. We arrested suspects in that case, they were from the South American community,” explained Couch. The suspects in this case were also from the South American community. We do believe its organized crime so there are potential for other actors to be in our communities.”