A Brown County man has been arrested by Abilene Police and is suspected of breaking into several car dealerships in Abilene and surrounding cities between August and December.
Abilene police said that it was his clothing that eventually gave him away.
Phillip Lynn Hodges, of May, has been charged in Abilene with Burglary of a Building. Police say that he always used the same method of operation which may help tie him to other recent burglaries in Brownwood and Boerne.
“The suspect would enter the buildings and then target the safe,” Sgt. Craig Jordan said.
Whereas there had been no identifying information out there in the previous cases, this time there was a suspect car and license plate number, Jordan said. That’s what led police to Hodges, who lives in Brown County.
After getting enough evidence during a search warrant, police from the Abilene Police Department, Brown County Sheriff’s Office, and Brownwood Police Department found the clothes that Hodges was seen wearing in surveillance pictures during one of the break-ins, Jordan said.
So far, Hodges has been charged in Abilene only.
Brownwood Police report that being a local man and the method of the break in, the burglaries of Big Country Ford, Stanley Dodge and Bruner Auto Group in recent months are possibly connected.
Brownwood Police reports show that on August 14th, Big Country Ford and Bruner Toyota were found to have been burglarized. According to police, Big Country Ford was reported to have been entered by force, a safe had been broken into, and an undetermined amount of money was taken.
Police reports also show that on October 13, Bruner Auto and Big Country Ford were found to have been burglarized. Police reports indicated that the would-be thieves targeted the safe at Bruner and rummaged through offices and files at Stanley Dodge.
“It is very likely he is connected to these,” stated Assistant Chief James Fuller of the Brownwood Police Department.
Fuller futher commented that there is no confirmation of the link at this time and police are still conducting their investigation.
