‘It’s a violating experience:’ Man caught on camera stealing generator near Memorial Park neighborhood

HOUSTON – Weeks after Hurricane Beryl, many homeowners are still recovering. From cleaning up debris, going back and forth filing insurance claims, and repairing what was damaged. That’s what one homeowner was doing when his brand-new generator was stolen from his garage in broad daylight.

The incident occurred on September 6 in Rice Military in the 600 block of Roy Street. A homeowner was outside fixing his broken fence when he noticed something was not right. Oil bottles were scattered everywhere and his brand-new generator sitting in his garage was gone.

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In a phone call with KPRC 2′s Kait Catuiza, the homeowner said he went back to look at this security footage to see what exactly happened. According to the security footage, a white Nissan Altima first drove by the property at 1:50 p.m., with a clearly visible rear license plate. However, the car passed by two more times in the following minutes, and by the time the car made its fourth pass, the rear license plate had been removed.

Video surveillance taken at 1:56 p.m. showed the thief make their move, just as the homeowner had stepped into the yard. In less than 30 seconds, an unknown man entered the garage, grabbed the generator, and got away.

The homeowner did not realize the generator was missing until half an hour later.

“It’s very frustrating, we’re expecting our first baby next month, and for this to happen, it’s a violating experience,” the homeowner said.

Houston Police are currently investigating the incident, and anyone with additional information is asked to call HPD Property and Financial Crimes at 713-308-0900.