At 11:50 Wednesday night, officers responded to the Millbank Lane area of the Vera Valley Subdivision. Witnesses there called police after seeing a suspect burglarizing a vehicle parked outside of the victim’s home. The fleeing suspect was quickly located by arriving officers. The suspect, a 17-year-old resident of the neighborhood, was arrested and booked into Williamson County Juvenile Services on the charge of Burglary to a Motor Vehicle.
Neighbors and police hope the arrest sends a message, especially to teens. Juvenile offenders have adopted the name “car hopping” or “car surfing” to describe going from parked car to parked car in a neighborhood, checking for unlocked doors and then stealing whatever they find inside. Items taken are as trivial as spare change, but have included things like electronics, prescription medicine, and handguns.
Parents are urged to have serious conversations with their teens about the fact that what they so casually call ‘car hopping,’ the law and victims call – burglary. Committing the felony offense of burglary comes with serious consequence to victims, juvenile suspects, and their families, and results in an unfortunate loss of the safety and security felt by their very own neighbors.
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