The burglary left a sour note.

Ralph Lindsey loves playing the bass guitar. Music has been a part of his life for many years, and since 2005 he’s been a member of the band Ed Bernet and the Levee Singers, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The group plays its mixture of country and Dixieland music throughout the Metroplex, including regular gigs at the Pocket Sandwich Theater.

Lindsey keeps many of his musical components in his garage, and says in 30 years at his North Lake Highlands home, he can’t remember leaving his garage door up after parking. And whether he left it up or not the night of April 12, someone got inside and made off with hundreds of dollars worth of tools and musical equipment, including an expensive cordless pickup used for his bass. He found the garage door open the next morning.

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Despite the loss, Lindsey is looking on the bright side.

“They missed a lot of stuff that was worth a lot more money,” he says. “I’m just grateful that they didn’t steal my bass amp. That was worth more than anything they stole.”

Dallas Police Officer Mitchell Gatsen of the Northeast Patrol Division says garage break-ins are very common crimes that often happen when homeowners occasionally forget to close the doors. Additionally, he says, crafty thieves can break into a garage within six seconds simply using a coat hanger, as evidenced by several videos showing these methods on YouTube.

The bottom line? Always remember to close a garage door and make it part of a security system if at all possible.

 The Victim: Ralph Lindsey
The Crime: Burglary
Date: Thursday, April 12
Time: Between 6:30 p.m. (April 12) and noon (April 13)
Location: 11000 block of McCree

 

Crime numbers

7:30 a.m.

Time of day May 6 when a burglary occurred at a Merriman Park residence while the owners were home asleep; the cat burglar stole jewelry and a Dell computer

2

Number of times that Dallas Northeast Patrol officer Rafael Mendoza has been arrested, most recently in late April after brandishing a weapon at a driver in Mesquite; he was previously arrested on a domestic violence charge

05.04

Date when someone burglarized the Vickery Meadow food pantry by smashing a hole through the back wall; the suspect stole a computer and a few oscillating fans