New surveillance video caught a thief in the act in Waldo. It’s part of one man’s mission to take back his neighborhood amid a spike in summer crime.
Burggraf Tire shop on Wornall and 82nd in Waldo is a recent victim in a string of robberies. An unidentified man broke into several customer cars parked at the shop on May 30.
“He stole the radio, several other things, then got into several other vehicles while he was here,” said Gator Watson, who calls himself the “neighborhood watch.”
“I’ve been doing this for several years around here. People know me,” Watson said.
Right now, he is very concerned for the Waldo area.
“There’s been a lot of break-ins on vehicles and in the homes, too,” he said.
A week before the tire shop was targeted, a thief broke into Computer Solutions and Exchange, located a few blocks away.
“You start doing that to businesses and they’re going to want to leave,” Watson said.
He’s reported his findings to police and KCPD is investigating.
Watson hopes he can get more officers to patrol the area.
“I would like that a lot. Just the scene of police officers driving around would people would be scared and not do it,” he explained.
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Lexi Sutter can be reached at lexi.sutter@kshb.com.
