Rash of burglaries reported in League City

LEAGUE CITY, TX Police say homeowners need to be aware of home invasions and burglaries this time of year, as one homeowner found out Wednesday morning.

"I heard a noise and the door being opened, and I thought it was my son coming in for some reason," said home invasion victim Sandy Records.

But when she went to investigate at 3am Wednesday, what she saw was a home invader.

"There was a person coming into our bedroom," Records said. "He shined what looked like a pen light at us. I didn't recognize who he was. My husband kinda woke up just briefly and I said, 'Who are you?'"

Her words were enough to scare the man off. He ran outside and hopped a fence, taking nothing with him.

League City police say this scenario is common this time of year. There have been 27 burglaries in the last 30 days here.

That's actually not unusual. The total number of home burglaries is actually down from last year. In July, there were 19 home burglaries and eight in August. Last year, there were 43 in July and 21 in August.

With two weeks left in August, the numbers could climb, and police say they're seeing a significant spike in forced entry break-ins. They are up eight percent.

Detectives say a good and affordable deterrent is to use exterior house lights.

"Especially the lighting that comes on when someone comes near it -- the motion type -- because it's going to get people's attention when someone comes near it," League City Police Department Sgt. David Hausam said.

In Records' case, there was no forced entry. The would-be burglar came in through an open back door.