Seagoville Flashback is a recurring feature revisiting notable moments from Seagoville’s past, drawn from official city and police records.
This week’s Seagoville Flashback looks back to September 2018, when a coordinated string of overnight burglaries targeted businesses along N US Highway 175, catching the attention of the entire community.
According to a news release issued by the Seagoville Police Department on September 11, 2018, the incident occurred in the early morning hours of September 6, 2018, between approximately 6:00 am and 6:15 am. A closed business in the 400 block of N US Highway 175 was targeted by a group of unknown suspects who police described as operating in a highly organized fashion.
Police reported that the suspects pried open the front door of the business, with their apparent focus being a floor mounted safe inside. A neighboring business was also targeted during the same window, but the suspects were unable to defeat that location’s security gated entrance. Police believe the resulting alarm prompted the group to flee before completing that attempt.
Just minutes later, at about 6:28 am, surveillance video from businesses in the 900 block of N US Highway 175 captured the suspect vehicle along with three masked suspects, all dressed in black, burglarizing a closed restaurant. According to police, this occurred even as morning traffic passed by, with drivers completely unaware of what was unfolding.
The footage reportedly showed how quickly the suspects were able to breach the front door using prybars. Once inside, police said the group went directly to the floor mounted safe and used a sledgehammer to break it loose before carrying it out to their vehicle, which had been backed into a space directly in line with the front door for a quick getaway.
Police said the suspect vehicle then departed south on Hall Street toward N US Highway 175 and out of camera view.
At the time, the Seagoville Police Department encouraged anyone with information related to the case to come forward. The release listed Sgt. A. Sparrow as the point of contact, and the department’s general line was published as (972) 287-2999.
Looking back, this case stands as a reminder of how organized and fast moving criminal activity can be, even in a small and tightknit community like Seagoville, and highlights the ongoing importance of local surveillance systems and community awareness in helping police respond to and investigate these types of incidents.
Source: City of Seagoville News Release, dated September 11, 2018. Contact listed: Sgt. A. Sparrow #132, Seagoville Police Department, (972) 287-6835.
