Anna Crime Watch

•  05/01/09 – THEFT – Unknown persons stole $6,000.00 worth of rebar from the new Anna High School construction site. 
•  05/03/09 – BURGLARY of HABITATION – 400 Block Niagara Falls Drive; Unknown persons entered an open garage and removed property from an unlocked vehicle.
•  05/06/09 – BURGLARY of BUILDING – 300 Block W. 2^nd Street; Unknown persons entered an unsecured building used for storage and removed property.

I would like to remind everyone to practice crime prevention, it takes 30 seconds for you to protect your valuables and it takes a thief 20 seconds to steal them.  Remove/hide your valuables and lock your car.  Keep your garage door closed, even when you are home, and take an inventory of your possessions and keep the serial numbers in a safe place.

For more information on crime prevention and neighborhood watch, please refer to our website: www.annatexas.gov click on the Departments tab then click Police.

As we approach the summer months, I feel it necessary to begin a Weekly Crime Blotter.  Most are familiar with this as it is used by the majority of agencies across the country.  We are growing in Anna and as the city grows, so does the crime.  On a good note, our neighborhood watch groups are becoming more active and we are getting more neighborhoods on board.  If you are not already an active member of your crime watch, I would recommend that you become a member.  Taking this step helps ensure the safety of your neighborhood and also assists the police department in solving crime problems.  If you are in a neighborhood that does not currently have an active crime watch and would like to start one, please go to the police department’s website and click on the “Neighborhood Watch” icon.

• 4/23/09 - 1600 block of Willow Way; Burglary of a Habitation where a refrigerator was taken.
• 4/23/09 - 700 block N Central Expwy(Love’s Travel Mart); Aggravated Robbery where an unknown white male entered the store, displayed an unknown type rifle or shotgun and demanded money.  Left in an unknown direction.  Described as a white male in his early 20’s, 5′06 to 5′08 tall and between 160 and 180 lbs.  Last seen wearing a green beanie style cap, white tee-shirt with “Wonder Bread” printed on the front, and blue jean shorts.
• 04/24/09 - 700 block S Central Expwy( Anna Fine Wine and Spirits); Theft where an unknown white male grabbed two 1.75 liter bottles of Crown Royal whiskey and ran out of the store. 
• 04/24/09 - 1000 block W. White St; Theft where two trailers were taken.  Both trailers are black.  One has a tool box and wench on the front.  The other is a plain 12×14 flatbed.  No suspect information is available.

If you have any information regarding any of the above incidents, we encourage you to contact the Anna Police Department 972-924-2848. 

Follow these links to view the robbery and help identify the suspect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H3jcE7rnWc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL-ogoW3EFc

 Press Release 

Anna Police are asking for help in identifying a suspect caught on video robbing a local truck stop.  On 04/23/09 at about 9:40 PM, Anna Police officers were dispatched to Love’s Travel Mart, 715 S. US HWY 75 in reference to an aggravated robbery that had just occurred.  A white male in his early 20’s was observed entering the truck stop via the south entrance.  The male was carrying a black jacket that contained either a rifle or shotgun.  He is seen in the video watching the clerk and patiently waiting for customers to clear out.  He approached the counter and laid the black jacket down on the counter.  He displayed the barrel to the clerk and demanded that she hand over the contents of the cash drawer.  He then apologized and left the store via the south entrance in an unknown direction.  The male is described as a white male in his early 20’s, 5’06 to 5’08 tall, approximately 170 to 190 lbs.  He had short brown hair and had a mustache.  He was wearing a green stocking cap, white sunglasses, a white tee-shirt with the word and logo for “Wonder Bread” on the front.  The shirt had either black or dark blue trim on the collar and sleeves.  He had on blue jean shorts, white calf height socks and dark tennis shoes.  He was carrying a black jacket and is armed with an unknown type shotgun or rifle.  Anyone who recognizes this individual or has information about this robbery is asked to contact the Anna Police Department at 972-924-2848 or Dispatch @ 972-547-5350.

The City of Anna is putting a new automated weather warning system into service.  It will utilize the Code Red Emergency Notification System and is known as “CODE RED WEATHER.”

Previously Anna emergency services personnel had to manually launch a weather warning.  Now, Code Red Weather will automatically notify those residents in the path of a dangerous weather event such as a flash flood, severe thunderstorm, or tornado.  This automated feature should make the notifications more timely.

All Anna area citizens must register if they want the service! Even if they registered previously, they should visit the City’s web-site (www.annatexas.gov), click on the “Code Red” link on the home page and re-register.  

The old system will only be in use until the end of April. If you want continued weather warnings, you will have to re-register.

Any citizen needing assistance with Code Red Weather registration can call the Anna Police Department during normal business hours for assistance.  972-924-2848

Attorney General Abbott Warns Of Grandparent Scam

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

 The Office of the Attorney General is warning retirees and senior citizens to be wary of a grandparentscam. Recent reports indicate that seniors have been receiving telephone calls from a purportedgrandchild in need of money. Usually, the ruse includes a caller who says something like “Hi, grandma,” or “Hey, it’s your favorite grandson.” The caller’s goal is to learn the name of a recipient’s actual grandchild. Sometimes the caller may even have learned the name of the grandchildren in advance – and claim to be a grandchild on the call. The caller typically tells the victim that he or she has been in an accident, was arrested, is stranded or in similar trouble and needs money immediately. Most often, the caller claims to be traveling in Canada. The “grandchild” also insists that the victim not tell anyone else – which increases the odds that the fraud will be successful. If all goes according to the con artist’s plan, the victim will wire money to the “grandchild.” By the time the elderly call recipient realizes what happened, the money is long gone and most likely not recoverable. This type of fraud is particularly troubling, as it plays upon a grandparent’s natural desire to protect a grandchild. Although variations of this scam have been around for a long time, it has become more sophisticated with the proliferation of information on the Internet. Con artists are more often using personal information gleaned from family blogs, genealogy Web sites, social networking Web sites and online newspapers to add credibility to their calls. Reports from law enforcement agencies around the country suggest that the scam works too often. 

Watch out for these red flags:

• Callers requesting money.
• Callers claiming to be in Canada or other foreign location.
• Callers insisting on secrecy.
• Urgent callers pressuring quick action.
•  Callers with unfamiliar voices.
• Callers requesting that money to be sent by wire transfer (because those funds are hard to trackand almost impossible to recover).
• Vague or elusive callers who get personal details wrong. 

Texans should always exercise some skepticism when they receive telephone calls urgently requesting money. If a relative calls and asks for money, they should verify the identity of the caller with personal questions a stranger would not be able to answer. Seniors should not “fill in the blanks” for callers but should ask them to give their names. Texans may also consider calling back using a telephone number they know to be genuine.  Another option is to ignore the caller’s wishes and verify the story with another family member.

Texans who believe they have been the target of a scam should contact the Office of the Attorney General at (800) 252-8011 or online at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.

Other Resources:PhoneBustersCanadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre

(888) 495-8501

www.phonebusters.cominfo@phonebusters.com 

Federal Trade Commission(877) FTC-HELPwww.ftc.gov

Better Business Bureauwww.bbb.org

 Greg Abbott