Burglars caught on camera posing as tree trimmers to break into homes
DALLAS - When a man knocked on the Barr family home last Saturday talking about the neighbors' trees, it didn't seem unusual. Their Lake Highlands neighborhood is full of old trees that often cross property lines.
"For somebody to come to our door and say, 'Hey, we have some tree problem'. Like, yea, we do!" said Shippy Barr.
She wasn't home at the time, but her husband, Dick, agreed to meet the man at the back of the house, where they waited on a drone that would supposedly determine where to best cut branches.
"He had all these stories. It was pretty amazing. He was married and had all these kids," recalled Dick.
"He was keeping him talking," said Shippy.
That's when a security camera shows a second man in gloves tried to open the front door and found it locked.
Cameras trace his path around to the back patio and through the same door Dick had just walked out of.
Fifteen minutes later, he's seen leaving with a bag just as his partner quickly excuses himself.
Together the two peel off quickly in what appears to be a black Chevy Tahoe. Inside, Dick discovered the mess left behind.
"He said, 'I think I've been scammed'," said Shippy.
Missing was much of her fine jewelry.
"You have this feeling of helplessness. I couldn't sleep at all that night," she said.
As the Barrs shared what happened with their neighbors, they learned the men had knocked on other doors, too, with the same story. Eventually, they linked them to a spree of burglaries across the state.
"It gives me a real sense of urgency because they're on the move," said Shippy.
Now they're trying to warn others and put a stop to them.