Houston Police are taking action after we reported on a man vandalizing rainbow porch lights on display for Pride Month.
HOUSTON — A man accused of repeatedly sabotaging a Houston family’s rainbow lights now faces a theft charge. That’s because the suspect didn’t just do it once or twice, but three different times. He pushed his luck when police said he also stole their new surveillance camera.
KHOU 11 first spoke with homeowner Jordanna Riggs last week after their Pride Month display had been dimmed twice.
“A little part of me was like, OK, surely this person will not come a third time after we fix our lights,” Riggs told us then.
They installed security cameras just in case.
On Saturday night, she caught a man walking up her driveway. Riggs says this time he tore down one of the newly installed surveillance cameras. The following night, other cameras showed he was back again, cutting the power to their lights.
“At 5 in the morning we woke up; we witness him remotely cutting the wire. I felt some relief, like, we got him,” Riggs told us on Monday.
HPD tells KHOU 11 they’ve now identified the suspect and say theft charges for stealing the Ring camera have now been accepted by the DA’s office. At last check, he hadn’t been arrested yet.
“I’m praying our property doesn’t get cut again and that we can just express ourselves through Pride Month in a peaceful way,” Riggs said.
The Riggs family says that they fixed the lights again and that neighbors have been offering help.
RELATED: ‘All in all, love wins’ | ‘Hateful’ vandal cuts off Houston family’s rainbow pride lights twice
Tips for homeowners
Installing the new Ring camera was the key to identifying this suspect.
“It’s becoming more and more important to have cameras of your own that you can access,” advised attorney Thomas Nixon. The KHOU 11 crime and safety expert spent years working in law enforcement.
He said if the Houston Police Department doesn’t take action, you have other options, like the county constables, who focus on things like property crime.
“If you’re not getting any kind of result from the Houston Police Department, you can go to Precinct 5 or Precinct 1; they’ll help you resolve the issue,” Nixon said.
“I’m thankful to the [Precinct 5] constables who have been watching our home, the community for rallying behind us and validating us, and I’m thankful for this criminal trespassing notification that prevents him from coming onto our property again,” Riggs said.