Houston police failed to return recovered stolen property to some victims even after an arrest was made and the case was closed.
HOUSTON — Houston police have failed to return recovered stolen property to some crime victims for months, even years, according to a KHOU 11 Investigates analysis of evidence logs and court records.
The odds of HPD solving a burglary or theft case are extremely low to begin with — about a 5% clearance rate in 2024, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Reporting System. So, when police do make an arrest and recover what was stolen, but never return it to the victim, it makes for a double blow.
“If you have stolen property and it’s recovered, some kind of notice should be given,” Trenton Nzekwesi said.
In June 2023, Nzekwesi was sound asleep at his apartment in southwest Houston when a screeching alarm on his phone suddenly woke him up before 6 a.m.
“Somebody was trying to get (my) vehicle,” he said.
Nzekwesi said he used the tracking app on his phone to follow his stolen car and he called 911 on the way. He said Houston police arrived at the location and arrested a suspect, Javius Williams.
The crime victim said he got his car back, but not his expensive jewelry that police recovered — a pair of diamond bracelets and rings that he estimated were worth $20,000.
“Well, you can’t get your stuff until the case is over,” Nzekwesi said. “That’s exactly what I was told.”
He said for months he tried to follow up, with no luck.
“It started off from one detective, then I got passed to another detective, then I got passed to another detective,” he said.
Court records show the case against Williams was dismissed in October 2024 after he pleaded guilty to a separate crime and was sentenced to four years in prison. But Nzekwesi said nobody at the Houston Police Department ever notified him that he could retrieve his valuables. Records show his recovered stolen jewelry still sits on a police property room shelf.
“I never got an email, never got a text,” he said. “It shouldn’t have taken a news reporter to tell you that the case was closed.”
Myah Williams experienced the same situation after her wedding ring was stolen from her vehicle in May 2022.
“It’s frustrating. It’s aggravating,” Williams said.
Wiliams said police recovered her ring at a pawn shop and records confirm HPD tagged it into evidence at the property room. The suspect in the case, Freddy Aragon, pleaded guilty in February 2023 and received one year deferred adjudication, a form of probation.
The ring, meanwhile, remains “stored in location” at the HPD property room, according to evidence logs.
“Wow,” Williams said. “Like, this is really how we treat people? Like, this is how you treat just regular citizens.”
It isn’t just jewelry that’s sitting in HPD’s property room. Records reveal digital cameras, bicycles, Air Pods, Air Jordan shoes, and a lot of power tools were all recovered but never returned, even though the criminal cases have been disposed.
“We’ve basically been victimized twice,” Williams said. “Not just by the person who stole the item, but the Houston Police Department as well, by not even following up, communicating, giving any type of information or knowledge about the case.”
In a statement, an HPD spokesperson said the department pledges to make things right.
“In both of these cases, the HPD Property Division disposition team is working to resolve these dispositions in a timely manner. Both cases have been disposed of by the courts and the property associated with them no longer needs to be held. We look forward to making contact with the complainants so that we can release their property back to them,” the HPD spokesperson said.
HPD added that in the past, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office did not always notify investigators when a case had been disposed. of
In all cases, HPD must send a Motion to Restore Personal Property to the chief prosecutor in the court in which the case was originally handled to authorize property to be released. HPD cannot release evidentiary property back to complainants without authorization from the court.
“Currently, HPD is working with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to improve our notification procedures so that we can be advised of disposed cases sooner, and in turn, start the process of returning evidentiary property to its rightful owner more quickly. We have a great working relationship with that office and are working collaboratively to improve our processes,” the HPD spokesperson said in the statement.
In other cases, recovered stolen property that’s still sitting on a shelf includes burglary tools used by suspects, surveillance videos, shell cases and other pieces of evidence with little or no value.
If you’re a crime victim waiting for recovered stolen property to be returned, you can contact HPD. For items stolen from a vehicle, call the HPD Auto Theft Division at 713-308-3500. For items stolen from a home or business, call the HPD Burglary and Theft Division at 713-308-0900.