SAN ANTONIO – “I was literally just guarding people’s possessions,” said Regina Guevara.
Volunteers Regina Guevara and Linc Myers have set up camp here in Kerrville along the Guadalupe River. Owners of houses slated for demolition along the river have to put appliances on the side of the road before they are demolished. Guevara says it’s a tempting sight for looters.
“In San Antonio, if you put it on your curb, it’s free. If it’s, like, back towards your house, you don’t touch it, right? And that didn’t apply this week, I guess, or last,” said Guevara.
Looters are also looking for scrap metal.
Volunteers say sometimes it’s not so obvious who is and who is not taking things, as anyone in the area could be hired to scrap things, but could also be looking to cash in themselves.
“People that come in with their existing small business, scrap metal, they got a big trailer on them, and they’re either just looking willy-nilly to grab whatever it is, or to give Regina or somebody else a problem,” said Myers.
And Pamela Allen, CEO of Eagle’s Flight SA, is here helping clear out houses to be demolished. She says what makes it worse is that some items have to be out for days, because stuff like mud has to be cleared out of the homes. She says protecting this stuff must be a difficult job.
“What is it, at least 100 miles of river that has been affected? How do you protect those homeowners along that line? And that’s it. That’s a really hard thing with all that they’ve got going on,” said Allen.
We are working with law enforcement to find out how widespread this issue is. Of course, it’s the weekend, but when you get back to us, we will have more.