East Texas

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

LONGVIEW — Caught in the act?

Two groups of alleged burglars are behind bars after Longview police captured the seven men at two locations early this morning.

Longview Police Public Information Officer Kevin Brownlee said that the first burglary officers worked was at L.C. Automotive at 610 S. Green St. just after midnight.

“A passerby called police and reported that she saw two men breaking into the building. When officers arrived at the location, they observed the suspects inside the building gathering property and placing the property next to the hole they had kicked into an overhead door,” he said.

Brownlee said that officers then went into the building and arrested a 19-year-old Longview man a 24-year-old Kilgore man.

Brownlee said officers had arrived before the suspects were able to remove any property from the business, and both men were booked into the Gregg County Jail for felony burglary of a building.

While officers were finishing their investigation into the first burglary, a burglar alarm went off and dispatchers sent police to the Blockbuster video store at 2430 S. High St. #E.

Arriving officers found five subjects in a vehicle, attempting to leave the location.

“The subjects were stopped and officers noticed gloves, burglary tools and an electrical meter box inside the car. Additional responding officers found that several meter boxes had been pried off the rear wall of the Blockbuster building and that forced entry had been made into the store. Officers discovered numerous items missing from inside the store,” he said.

Brownlee said as the investigation continued, officers discovered that the back door to the neighboring Acceptance Insurance Company had been pried, but not opened. An illegal shotgun was located inside the suspects’ vehicle and one of the suspects had illegal knuckles in his pocket. Several DVDs stolen from Blockbuster were recovered outside of the building on the ground. The five suspects were arrested and booked at the Gregg County Jail.

The names of the suspects are being withheld until arraignment.