The Crime: Burglary of a residence
The Victim: Melanie Rice
Location: 5900 block of Elderwood Drive
Date: Tuesday, April 14
Time: 10:30 a.m.

It was typical lunch break.

Or at least that’s what Melanie Rice thought when she came home for lunch, as she often does. What she didn’t realize, however, was that a burglar had targeted her house.

She entered the house from the back and looked at the front door, noticing it had been kicked in.

“I was startled, and it stopped me in my tracks,” Rice says. “Since I’m a dental hygienist, I had an appointment in 30 minutes so I had to go back to work. I called the police after my appointment.”

When Rice finally returned home, she investigated her bedroom and says it was a turned upside down.

 “It looked like he was looking for things he could pawn,” she says. “He took some costume jewelry and some family heirlooms that, of course, I had sentimental value for. He even took my daughter’s iPod. Some jewelry was covered by insurance, but I still have to talk to my agent.”

The incident, she says, has left her and her family feeling vulnerable.

“I felt violated,” Rice says. “My two children were shaken, and I was concerned about them. I didn’t want them to be afraid of being home.”

The neighborhood where she lives has an active crime watch program, and also has hired Firstwatch Security, but it doesn’t operate 24 hours.

Rice says that a nearby neighbor actually saw the burglar and was able to give Dallas Police Detective Lowell Johnson III a description.

“Detective Johnson says this is the work of a crime ring, and these are the types of crooks that want to avoid contact. They get in and get out quick.”

Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Eddie Crawford says there are some important lessons for neighbors to learn here. He says the eyewitness neighbor should have called 911 immediately.
“When you see something that you think is suspicious, and you really think your gut is telling you there is something wrong, that’s when you call the police,” Crawford says. “It sounds like her neighbor should have reacted, and maybe we could have caught them. The first equation in making an arrest is making a positive ID. If you are fortunate enough to get a fingerprint and it’s matched to the person you identified, that leads to a warrant and an arrest.”