By LeaAnne Klentzman

Three southwest Fort Bend teens and a juvenile from West Columbia have been arrested and face burglary charges in Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Matagorda counties.

In an unusual turn of events, the Fort Bend Sheriff’s Department called a Town Hall meeting in Needville to calm the fears of residents after a rash of residential burglaries over the last couple on months. According to information disseminated at the Town Hall meeting on Wednesday night, June 9, Tyler Stringer, 17, of Damon, Ryland Kirkpatrick, Zachery Linderman, both 17, and both of Needville, as well as an unidentified juvenile from West Columbia, are believed to be responsible for numerous burglaries in all three counties. The boys were arrested on May 27, when they were found to be in possession of stolen property linking them to several of the burglaries.      

In a press release issued June 4, Sheriff’s spokesperson Terriann Carlson announced a Town Hall meeting.  In the announcement Carlson said, “The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and Chief Deputy Craig Brady would like to extend a personal invitation to the citizens of Needville, Fairchilds, Pleak, and the surrounding area to attend the Town Hall Meeting. The meeting will be held at the Needville Fire Department, 3323 Richmond St., Needville, on Wednesday, June 9, at 7:00 p.m.”

On the night of the meeting about 200 Needville area residents, some 20 plus deputies from patrol personnel, to administrative staff were present. In opening remarks the Chief Deputy thanked everyone for attending and announced the arrests of the four teens.  He said that many of the stolen guns, including a .50 caliber sniper rifle, electronics, knives, and jewelry taken in the burglaries had been recovered from the home of the boy from West Columbia and from a barn in Damon.  Since their arrests, the teens were bonded out on $10,000 bond and are back at home in the Needville area leaving residents quit uncomfortable based on their comments at the meeting.

The Chief Deputy further said that while the teens had been arrested,  there were two other identified burglary rings working the area.  He said one of the suspects believed to be responsible for the home invasion robbery on Band Road last month is an ex-convict who was recently arrested by Harris County on another charge and is currently in their custody. Little information was available on the third group believed to be burglarizing area homes. They are purportedly out of Rosenberg but, said the Chief Deputy, the case is still ongoing.

During the question period, many of the questions were about when a citizen could use deadly force to protect themselves or their property.  He fielded complaints about citizens not being able to get dispatchers to send a patrol deputy to investigate, as well as follow up calls by detectives.  He publicly provided his cell phone number if residents needed his personal assistance. When asked how the teens would be prosecuted, he said that was up to the District Attorney’s office but to effect changes there, they would have to get out and vote. 

The Chief Deputy then took a swipe at Commissioners and the County Judge by telling the citizens that statically the Sheriff’s Department does not have enough people.  The national average is 2.8 officers per 1,000 citizens and Fort Bend falls short, he said. He went on saying if you are not happy with that, call your Commissioner or the County Judge. However, as short handed as he said they are, he stated that the sheriff’s department’s emergency response time throughout the county remains constant at a 3-4 minute arrival time for 911 calls.

As questions wound down, he asked the rural residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity, no matter how inconsequential it may seem.  The Chief Deputy assured them that the department and deputies were available to assist them. Lieutenant Danny Jan, the Sheriff’s liaison with the Office of Emergency Management, spoke encouraging residents to call and become part of the upcoming CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training.  Jan was followed by a deputy assigned to Crime Prevention who informed attendees on how to reach him in order to get a home safety inspection. 

The meeting closed with a reminder that anyone with information about burglaries in the area is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS.

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