Mysterious Burglaries Solved LIBERTY, June 21, 2010 -On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 16th, the Liberty Police Department (LPD) arrested Jason L. Smith, 23, of Liberty, for two counts of Burglary of a Habitation. Smith is alleged to have gone into homes while the residents were out, and watched Pay Per View adult movies on the residents’ TV’s.

LPD first became aware of Smith when officers answered a call in the 1500 block of Holly Street on Monday June 14th. A family member was home alone, when she heard noise in her living room. When she went to the living room, she saw a man sitting on her couch watching TV. The man said he was there because he did the family’s yard work. But then the man ran from the residence. The homeowner confirmed that the man did not work for the family and did not have consent to be on the premises. Officers searched the neighborhood, but didn’t find the man that day.

The homeowner then supplied the officers with some interesting information. She said she had received charges on her cable bill over the past couple of months for PPV (Pay for view Pornographic) movies that she never rented and did not know that her home had been burglarized. She had contested the bill, asking the cable company to remove the charges. The officers and the homeowner felt that the man may have been in the house before and could be responsible for the PPV charges.

When word got out on Holly St., a second complainant came forward stating they had received the same type of PPV charge on their bill in September of 2009. Officer Barbie Miller and detectives Chip Fairchild and Elaine Taylor were the case investigators. After two days of investigation, they had a suspect identified. It turned out that it was a man that lived in a house on the same block of Holly St. as the two complainants. The officers had the suspect come in for an investigative interview. It was during the interview that the suspect confessed to the offenses at both residences.

According to Officer Hugh Bishop, no evidence exists that anything was taken from the homes that were burglarized.

Justice of the Peace Bobby Rader issued two warrants for the arrest of Jason Smith, for Burglary of a Habitation. Bond was set at $10,000 for each warrant. Smith turned himself in at the PD on the afternoon of June 16th. He was transported to the Liberty County Jail and booked-in without incident.

While LPD investigators have closed these two burglary cases, they feel there could be additional incidents. Anyone having information about mysterious PPV adult movie charges on their bill should contact the Liberty Police Department at 336-5666.

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