Timberbrook Area #3

Chief’s Weekly UpdateCity of Lewisville—Police Department“the place to be"
Week ofOctober 5, 2009 – October 11, 2009
OPERATIONS – PATROL
Driver Arrested for DWI after Short PursuitOn the night of Wednesday, October 7th, Officer Persinger spotted a car with a flat tire and front-end damage traveling southbound in the 2700 block of East State Highway 121 Business. Persinger attempted to stop the car using emergency lights and siren. The driver refused to stop for him, continuing southbound at speeds varying from 5 to 30 miles per hour. Officers Bryson and Johnson joined in the pursuit. At one point, back-up units blocked northbound State Highway 121 Business as the car crossed the median, traveling southbound in the northbound lanes. Shortly after crossing the median, the car left the roadway and became stuck in the ditch. The driver, a 55 year-old Plano woman, was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated.Burglary of a BuildingOn Friday, October 10th, Officer Steinle investigated the burglary of a building in the 800 block of Treatment Plant Road. His investigation led to the recovery of a stolen dog. Officer Steinle developed leads on the location of the stolen dog on Friday and ultimately located the suspect at his home in the 100 block of Walters Street. The suspect fled from Officer Steinle, but was apprehended after a short foot pursuit. The dog was located and returned to its owner. The Criminal Investigations Division continues to follow-up on the case.
OPERATIONS – CID
National Night Out The Police Department participated in the National Night Out festivities on October 6th. The Neighborhood Resource Officers attended seven events throughout the evening. Officers passed out numerous pieces of crime prevention literature and answered questions from residents. The seven events were located at the following locations:

1500 block of Steam Boat Trail
The Vista Ridge Estates Area
Austin Kent Ellis Pa
700 block of Juniper Lane
Heritage Hill Area
Pebble Ridge Area
Timberbrook Area Many citizens attended the events and had excellent questions for officers. Citizens received many tips to help reduce their chances of becoming a victim of crime. Officers gave the attendees information on “Lock, Take, and Hide,” which is a campaign to educate citizens to “Lock” their vehicles, “Take” their keys, and “Hide” belongings when parking their vehicles. Officers also spoke about crime prevention surveys offered by our Neighborhood Resource Officers. The surveys have been very effective in providing citizens with pointers on security measures they can take to protect their home. Many citizens also shared tips with each other on techniques they have implemented to increase their security. One Crime Watch area had become somewhat stagnant over the years and, after attending their local event, vowed to rejuvenate their Crime Watch program again.

Anyone interested in information on crime prevention or on starting a Crime Watch in their area may contact Sergeant Gordon Blair by calling (972) 219-5009, or by e-mailing him at gblair@cityoflewisville.com.

Vehicle Burglars Pick Wrong Car On Thursday, October 8th, Officer Martin Popick of the Street Crimes Unit was conducting surveillance in an unmarked car in the 2000 block of Stover. Officer Popick observed two suspicious people and began to monitor their activities. Officer Popick leaned back in his vehicle to keep them seeing him. Not realizing Popick was inside, one of the subjects approached his vehicle and opened the passenger door. Officer Popick detained both suspects to investigate their actions. Officer Jesse Hunter arrived to assist. Both individuals were questioned separately and they had different explanations for what they were doing. Officers noted that these two suspects fit the descriptions of two individuals that had been seen acting suspicious on Misty Lane earlier that same day. During the interview with officers, the suspects finally admitted that they had been checking car doors to see if they were unlocked and, if so, stealing money from inside. Officers located one victim whose vehicle had been burglarized. Officers arrested and charged both subjects with Burglary of a Vehicle. Detectives Assist Coppell Police with Crime Scene SearchOn October 8th, based on information developed in the Kathleen Garza homicide investigation, the Denton County District Attorney's Office and the Coppell Police Department identified a search area in Lewisville. At approximately 3:30 p.m., officers from the Coppell Police Department and the Lewisville Police Department responded to search a wooded area along State Highway 121, near Fish Hatchery Road. The search revealed items of clothing, bones, and hair. These items were turned over to Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office to be processed and analyzed. Narcotics Search WarrantOn Friday, October 9th, Officers Tiberghien, Ortiz, Alexander, and Sergeant Kemp discovered a marihuana grow inside of a house in the 1400 block of Wild Valley. Officers had been dispatched to the residence on a burglary in progress call after a witness reported having seen at least two people jump the fence to the residence. Upon his arrival, Officer Ortiz observed an unknown person exit the front door and then flee back inside after seeing his patrol car. This unknown person escaped out the rear of the residence.Officers entered the residence to check for additional suspects and observed numerous marihuana plants and marihuana inside the residence. They contacted officers from the narcotics unit who obtained a search warrant for the residence. Detective Eddie Barrett and Lieutenant Chris Butterworth from Special Operations responded to the scene. Detectives ultimately discovered 15 marihuana plants and a large quantity of marihuana at the location. Arrests are pending as the Narcotics Unit follows up on the investigation.

SUPPORT SERVICES:
Dispatchers Assist with Fire Department Open HouseDispatchers Gayla Scheidler and Tifney Martinez operated the 911 information booth at our Fire Department’s Open House on Saturday. They had a good turnout despite the weather. Thanks go out to Gayla and Tifney for helping make this event a success!The Police Department sails through our DPS Security Audit On Monday, October 5th, Gwinna Pedigo and Chris Lee met with our DPS CJIS Security Representative for a security audit. This federally-mandated security audit occurs once every three years. Thanks to Gwinna and Chris' preparation, our audit results were exemplary! Thanks, Gwinna!SAFVIC for Telecommunicators TrainingWe are hosting SAFVIC training for dispatchers on the 14th, 21st, and 28th of October. This past summer, Kellie Hayney and Gwinna Pedigo attended SAFVIC Instructor Training in Austin. They will be instructing all of our Communications personnel on this important subject matter.