The Galveston Police Department is investigating. The victims are fellow officers, a husband and wife who work as deputies at the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. They say they had about $11,000 worth of stuff, including cash intended for life-saving medical treatment, stolen on Monday morning.
For Galveston County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jesse Khaled, all it took was one look at his front door during a quick trip home for lunch.
"I grabbed my key and I took out my gun," he said.
For him to know what he'd find on the other side wouldn't be good.
"When I walked in here, it looked like a tornado hit the place," Khaled said.
There was shattered glass on the floor, the Xbox and PlayStation were gone and every drawer in the house turned inside out.
"My house was trashed," he said.
But Khaled was concerned about only one.
"We had the money back here," he said.
The crook found the family's cash.
"It was approximately, about $3,600," Khaled said.
It wasn't their vacation or rainy day fund but for something.
"This money is for chemotherapy for her cancer treatments," Khaled said.
And it's meant for someone more important.
"It's my little sister," he said.
Nine days earlier, Khaled and his wife, also a Galveston County Sheriff's Office deputy, held a fundraiser for his sister, Lori Medrano, a cancer patient. They say with the money they raised they immediately paid off some of her medical bills and hid the rest until they could go to the bank.
"I was going to do that, I was going to do that," Khaled said.
Now it's too late and time to start over.
"Money is her life and that's basically our struggle with it. I mean everything else that's missing from our house I'll replace at some point in time, which I don't care about. But her life is not replaceable," he said.
Khaled says his sister is taking this all in stride. She has tremendous faith and believes God will provide for her.
Galveston police were able to collect some evidence from the scene and hope it'll lead them to the burglar.
If you're interested in helping the family, you can email Khaled's wife, Amanda Khaled, at Akhaled@ccisd.net.
