Landlord frustrated over South Monroe rental home burglaries - KNOE 8 News; KNOE-TV; KNOE.com |

By Victoria Shirley

MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - Home burglaries have some South Monroe renters on edge. Johnny Hardy says his rented home has been burglarized several times since moving in.

Three police reports indicate Xboxes and games were taken from the house. Now Hardy has boarded up most of his windows. "It makes me jump up, hear noises outside, make me jump up in the middle of the night, looking out windows, the windows I can see out of." said Johnny Hardy.

It is a situation not unique to landlord Larry Hilton. Many of his South Monroe properties have been broken into, upsetting his tenants. "It's my issue to repair the break ins, so it's a direct loss to me" said Hilton.

Hilton hopes police catch the culprits and put a stop to the crime, but Monroe police say the process isn't so easy. Detective Jeremy Kent is the detective assigned to Hardy's case. He says in just a month, over 250 possibly stolen Xboxes have been pawned off in the Monroe area, making it difficult to locate missing game systems without serial numbers like Hardy's.  "It makes me want to move, go somewhere else." said Hardy of his break ins.

Kent says each burglary has it's own timeline. If not enough evidence is left behind by the thief, it could be months to years to crack the case. "Bear with us, it's not an exact process to solving a crime. It's certainly not an easy process that's going to happen overnight." said Det. Jeremy Kent.

To protect yourself, lock windows and doors and use a security system, if possible. Police say neighbors can help catch thieves by reporting them. Or if you want to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers of Ouachita at 388-CASH (388-2274).