With the Christmas shopping season upon us, Detective Lt. Rene Guerrero of the Beeville Police Department is urging people to be careful with their belongings and look out for each other.

Guerrero’s words of caution follow reports of a number of home burglaries in which the victims returned home to find their new, flat panel televisions stolen.

The detective said a thief can grab a large flat panel television and run with it but stealing one of the older, heavier models would be much tougher.

Guerrero said five victims in one northeast Beeville neighborhood returned home earlier in the past month or so to find a missing big screen television set and two more would-be victims found that someone had tried to get into their homes.

Most recently, a couple of victims on the west side of town also have either lost flat panel televisions or have had an attempt made to steal a television.

In one case, someone entered a home where a large screen television may have been visible from the street by someone walking by the home but when the would-be thief got into the home he apparently realized that the television was much heavier than it looked.

“That was my theory,” Guerrero said when asked if it was possible that the victims’ televisions might have been spotted from the street before the burglars struck.

Fortunately, the last reported burglary in which a television seemed to have been targeted was on Nov. 15. Guerrero said public attention to the problem may have slowed down the thieves looking for the new televisions.

Guerrero said he has received at least one report recently from a person who was approached by an individual outside the Wal-Mart Supercenter and offered a chance to buy one of the new televisions.

The detective said anyone caught in possession of a television set taken in a burglary could be charged with being an accessory to the original crime.

Guerrero recommended that anyone who might have purchased a new, flat-panel television from an individual might want to report the purchase to the police and have the set’s origin investigated. If police determine that a television was stolen but that the buyer purchased it in good faith, no charges would be filed.

“It’s pretty hard to pass up a 52-inch plasma television for $200,” Guerrero said.

Even if someone has purchased a television from someone he knows to help that person out of a financial bind, Guerrero said it is possible that the television also was stolen.

The detective suggested that people keep shades and blinds drawn and front doors closed if their new television sets are visible from the street.

He also urged everyone to keep doors and windows locked when they are not at home. People should lock their doors even if they are running to the neighborhood store to buy a gallon of milk.

“Get to know your neighbors,” Guerrero said. Too often people see what should be suspicious activity in their neighborhoods and have no idea they should be suspicious.

After getting to know your neighbors, watch each others’ houses and call police to report strangers showing up where they are not supposed to be.

“If you hear a noise, flick on a light and it’ll scare off anyone who is not supposed to be in the neighborhood,” Guerrero said.

Also, if the thief or thieves who have been taking the televisions believe they have committed the perfect crime, think again. Guerrero said investigators have some leads and are working on them. As more leads come in, detectives believe it is only a matter of time before they catch the suspects.