Spike In Thefts From Vehicles In Pflugerville Prompts Police Warnings

PFLUGERVILLE, TX — A spike in the number of thefts eased by unlocked cars has prompted police to offer tips for residents to avoid becoming victims.

As of July 26, police said, there have been 44 reports of burglaries of motor vehicles compared to just 17 for all of June. On Tuesday alone, police responded to at least 10 reports in the Springbrook Enclave subdivision after having worked 10 cases stemming from the Gatlinburg subdivision on Monday, according to officials.

Three arrests have been made in connection with Monday night's burglaries, police said. Michael Abrego, 19, and Cobey Hill, 18, were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and thre counts of burglary of a vehicle, police said. A third suspect, an unidentified juvenile, was charged with the same offenses, police added.

Additionally, Abrego was charged with carrying a weapon and theft of a firearm while Hill was further charged with evading arrest, police said. Officers recovered multiple firearms and are working in coordination with Austin Police Department to trace one of which was found to be stolen out of that jurisdiction, according to Pflugerville officials.

All of the vehicles that were burglarized on Monday and Tuesday showed no signs of forced entry, police said.

“It’s important to take your valuables with you when you leave your car, and to secure your vehicle by locking it,” Chief Jessica Robledo said. “We are strengthening patrol of neighborhoods and working to solve these cases, but we also need the community’s help to make criminals’ jobs more difficult.”

PPD recommends taking the following actions to protect your property and discourage criminals from burglarizing your vehicle:

• Always lock your car doors, no matter where your vehicle is parked.
• Take all belongings with you.
• If you must leave an item in your vehicle, place it in your trunk or somewhere else out of plain view to avoid a break-in.
• Install a home security camera. The footage provided by these cameras is incredibly helpful to detectives working a case.

Anyone with information about the Tuesday evening burglaries is asked to call PPD at 512-990-5700.

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