Charges not filed in theft

By Jonathan Sampson
Staff Reporter

Police searched for 45 minutes Thursday before capturing five Paschal High School students after the burglary of two vehicles belonging to TCU students, said Jamie Johnson, neighborhood police officer assigned to the TCU campus.

Johnson said arrests were not made for the burglary of the vehicles, but suspects were identified, charged with truancy and returned to school.

Erin Munger/SKIFF STAFF A Fort Worth Police Department officer picks up evidence from a car that was burglarized Thursday on West Cantey Street.

Fingerprints were lifted from one vehicle’s windows, said E.T. Wolanski, a Fort Worth police officer.

“The crime scene was dusted, and hopefully, they got some good prints so we can make a match,” he said.

The incident occurred on the corner of Lubbock and West Cantey streets, one block away from east campus.

Kelly Ham, TCU detective of criminal investigations, said the original call that came to TCU Police at 11:20 a.m. reported there were four suspicious boys loitering around vehicles on the street. When TCU Police arrived, they captured two suspects on the street and found another in an alley off Sandage Avenue, Ham said.

Johnson said police located two more suspects at Paschal High School, bringing the total number of suspects to five.

Over the past week, the City of Fort Worth reported 17 similar incidents and TCU reported two. Although Ham said it is too soon to link the incidents, he said TCU will follow up with an investigation.

“We’ll see if we can make a connection,” Ham said.

TCU Police will not increase security for the area, but Ham said officers will try to pay attention to the cars and the lots.

Wolanski said property taken from the vehicles included compact discs and a compact disc player.

Students are encouraged to remove all valuables from their cars, Ham said.

TCU Police turned the investigation over to the Fort Worth Police Department because the incident occurred on a city street, but Ham said they will still be working with the investigation.

Police said they would not release the names of the TCU students whose cars were vandalized.

Jonathan Sampson
j.m.Sampson@student.tcu.edu