Houston Police Chief: Burglaries Up 20 Percent After Coronavirus Stay-Home Orders
Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said burglaries in the city are up 20 percent since the issuance of “Stay-Home, Work-Safe” orders put in place by Harris County.
“Right now, burglaries have spiked 20 percent,” Chief Acevedo told Breitbart Texas in a phone interview. “Some people are seeing the shutdown of businesses as a target-rich opportunity. Habitual burglars should not be released.”
Acevedo said Judge Hidalgo did not consult with him about the issue of releasing criminals from the county jail, a large percentage of which were arrested by his officers.
Police in other cities are also reporting increases in burglaries after stay-at-home orders are issued by local authorities.
Statistics reported by the New York City Police Department’s CompStat website show a 21.8 percent increase in burglaries in the last 28 days. The site also reports auto thefts are up by 64.2 percent during the same period. Murders, robbery, and shooting incidents also showed increases.
Minneapolis police and business owners also expressed concerns over burglaries as more businesses and stores are closed due to stay-at-home orders, the StarTribune reported. Since February 5 the number of burglaries nearly doubled.
Despite promises that violent criminals would not be releases, KTRK ABC13 in Houston reports that some were released on bonds as low as $10.
The Houston ABC affiliate reports:
Kelvin Hawthorne, 18, is accused of punching and choking his girlfriend on Monday. Normally, that kind of crime gets a $1000 bond and often times it’s a personal recognizance bond, which means release from jail on the promise to return.
On Tuesday, a judge granted Hawthorne a $100 bond. He paid $10, had to agree to bond conditions and was released from jail.
Craig Jones, 55, is accused of hitting and choking his wife. He has prior violent convictions. The state requested a $10,000 bond. On Tuesday, a magistrate made it much lower, granting a $300 bond.
Timothy Singleton, 21, also has prior convictions. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, after being accused of pulling a gun on his aunt’s neighbor. Singleton was granted a $500 bond, which means $50 would get him out of jail. Normally bond would be at least $20,000.
Tori McFarland, 23, accused of robbery with bodily injury, a violent crime, got out of jail on a $10 bond.
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