Man Tracks Down Thief Who Broke Into His Home
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KENNEDALE (CBSDFW.COM) - It took little more than day for a Kennedale homeowner to track down the man he says broke into his house and stole his computer.
"Our lifeline was that computer. That's my t-shirt business… that's everything," said Phil Wallace.
And it wasn't the first time the neighborhood sleuth solved a crime.
"A couple months ago, I nabbed a guy at Walmart stealing a fake gun. And then I caught the kids who stole my mail last month," he said.
So how did he do it?
Working with security video from a business across the street, Wallace noticed and older model Honda Civic with a telltale paint job.
"I hadn't seen that on a Honda Civic before; this was a darker blood red color," said Wallace.
He remembered the same car, pulling up to his home a few months ago with a driver inside who had no business there.
"He says 'I saw your sign for t-shirts and I wanted to ask for t-shirts.' He didn't have any idea of why he wanted t-shirts," said Wallace about the suspicious man.
Fast forward to the day of the burglary.
"When I saw the video, I knew right away it was the same guy," said Wallace about the man who casually walked to the back door while no one was home.
The video shows the man brazenly walking in and out of the house with hands full -- no rush at all.
"I didn't get mad when I saw everything. I said, 'I'm going to figure this out,' "said Wallace.
Wallace had a hunch that with the flea market only a few miles away, the thief may try to sell his stolen goods there.
"He came from the highway. If I was going to sell this stuff I'd sell it at the flea market. It's right here and it's fast," said Wallace.
His hunch paid off. Wallace saw the thief's car in the parking lot of the flea market, called police and watched with his wife as the man unloaded their stolen goods.
"I went back and regained my possessions from the lady who bought them for $30. This guy gave back his freedom and integrity for $30," said Wallace.
Kennadale police have a warrant out for the suspect's arrest, a man who detectives said was convicted of burglary of a habitation before.
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