7 burglaries in Red Oak could be linked to a bigger ring

RED OAK – It began last Monday, Dec. 8, when Red Oak police were dispatched to the 200 block of Ovilla Road. A call came in at about 2:53 a.m. letting police know the business burglary alarm at First Aid Wireless had been triggered.

By the end of the night, not only First Aid Wireless, but also Juniors Barbecue, Petals Plus, Dickeys Barbecue Pit, Kwik Kar, Crystal Cleaners and Texas Quitters Club – all within one mile of each other on Ovilla Road – had been hit one after the other. 

Red Oak Police Chief Garland Wolf said his department personnel arrived on scene at First Aid Wireless at 2:57 a.m., and found the front door of the business shattered. Police made entry into the store and found no one inside.

At 2:59 a.m., another call came in from Kwik Kar, where police arrived only two minutes later and observed again, the front door of the business had been shattered.

By that time the “crews” had hit all seven businesses, and Red Oak Police had called for the Ovilla Police Department to assist with the multiple crime scenes. 

They had also determined all the burglary investigations involved forced entry through the one of the business doors, with cash being removed from the cash register or the entire cash register being taken. 

Wolf said these types of burglaries are not uncommon. He explained that teams work together in such a way that one group burglarizes one business and texts or calls to let a second team know the police are on the way to the first location. 

Then a second person burglarizes a second business – and so on.

The Red Oak Police Department stated Monday the businesses in this case did appear to have been burglarized during the same criminal episode by the same two suspects.

“On average, most burglars are in and out of a business within two to three minutes of triggering a business alarm,” Wolf said. 

“The Red Oak Police Department responds to most business alarms within minutes of our communications personnel dispatching the alarm. 

“Unfortunately, not all business owners have alarms, or they have requested that alarm monitoring companies contact a business representative before requesting police personnel to be dispatched.”

While the suspects were able to retrieve no more than $20 from any one business last week and in some cases small electronics, Wolf said likely the burglaries are occurring because the suspects are looking for cash.

Not all the businesses last week had an alarm system or video, but a review of the surveillance video that was available showed two male suspects making forced entry into the businesses.

The suspects appeared to be White or Hispanic males in their late teens to early twenties. They only remained inside each of the businesses no more than three minutes. 

The vehicles used appeared to be a white passenger vehicle with dark tinted windows.

The city is adding a close patrol initiative since last week’s mass burglaries, and have placed an emphasis on businesses and patrolling around the clock. 

However, Wolf emphasizes, “We do this every year around the holidays because of such offenses. People are looking for an easy score on cash registers and daily cash receipts this time of year, and that was the target of these burglars.”

One thing business can do to assure faster arrival by the police department is to change their alarm dispatch settings to have the monitoring companies contact the police communications personnel directly for any related alarms. 

“We encourage our business owners to make this change because the City of Red Oak does not have a fee for false alarms – so there is no reason not to have the alarm company contact the Red Oak Police Department first,” Wolf concluded.

The Red Oak Police Department Criminal Investigation Division is currently attempting to identify the two suspects. If anyone has information about the identity of the subjects involved in last week’s burglaries in Red Oak, contact Detective Keven Hughes at 469-218-7707/KHughes@redoaktx.org or the Red Oak Police Department at 972-775-3333.