Several business owners along South Padre Island Drive on Padre Island are warning others after a man was caught on camera attempting to break into their mailboxes early Tuesday morning.
Jennifer Thomas, who works at one of the targeted locations, said the incident happened around 5 a.m. when surveillance cameras captured a man walking around the building and prying open mailboxes.
"A few minutes before 5 am, a man walked around the building and started prying all the mailboxes open," Thomas said.
The building owner, Chris Gale, spotted the man on security cameras and immediately warned him that police were being called. The confrontation was captured on the building's ring doorbell system.
"And then the owner Chris Gale, saw him on the camera and let him know the police are coming," Thomas said.
The suspect left empty-handed after targeting six mailboxes at Thomas's location.
"And we have 6 boxes, so he did a lot of work for nothing, which I'm ok with," Thomas said.
After the man fled, Thomas discovered other nearby businesses had also been targeted.
"And then he ran off, and I checked in with some other neighbors and they were broken into as well," Thomas said.
Brent Chesney, another business owner in the area, confirmed his property was also hit. Security footage from Thomas's building showed the suspect heading toward Chesney's location.
"I guess the same person went over there, because you could see from her camera that it was turning the corner and headed towards my building and we had damage on our property as well," Chesney said.
Video from Chesney's business shows the damaged mailbox left behind by the suspect.
"I hope we can catch him and get him off our island and keep our island clean from thieves and scammers," Thomas said.
Corpus Christi Police Department confirmed officers are investigating the incidents. The department is asking anyone who recognizes the person in the surveillance video to contact them at 361-888-8477.
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