A man linked to a string of burglaries last year in the Town of Westlake is in the Keller Regional Detention Facility today, charged with seven counts of burglary and tampering/fabricating evidence.

Justin Andrews, a 34-year-old resident of Houston-area Waller County, was arrested March 12 after Keller police linked him to a cache of stolen property uncovered during the search of a Houston home the week before. During investigators’ search on March 7, they found jewelry and other items taken from homes in Westlake’s gated communities of Vaquero and Glenwyck Farms, as well as pieces connected to burglary cases in Flower Mound, Memorial City, and Harris County, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The loss that our residents experienced is tragic in terms of the many personal and valuable items stolen in these burglaries that can never be replaced,” said Westlake Mayor Laura Wheat. “However, we are extremely gratified at the progress our police department has made in identifying a key suspect in connection with these crimes. I commend Lt. Brenda Slovak and her detective division for their hard work and persistence in their pursuit of justice for anyone involved in committing these crimes.”

“I am very pleased that we were able to solve these burglaries and put closure on these cases,” said Mark Hafner, chief of police for Westlake and Keller. “I’d like to thank the citizens of Westlake for their patience during this investigation and for their proactive response to last year’s incidents; because of our work together to improve crime prevention strategies in Westlake since the burglaries, I feel confident it is now a much safer and engaged community.”

Andrews, being held in lieu of $3.6 million bond, has been charged with six burglaries that occurred in the Town of Westlake in July and November 2012 and tampering/fabricating evidence, and one burglary that occurred in Flower Mound. Investigators expect to add additional charges in the future.

The nature of this ongoing investigation limits the police department’s ability to release further details at this time, but additional questions about this case should be directed to Criminal Investigations Commander Lt. Brenda Slovak at 817-743-4506.

Story and photo courtesy of the Town of Westlake