By Billy Davis

The sheriff’s department is asking neighbors to watch out for each other after burglars hit as many as 12 homes last week, Sheriff Dennis Darby said Monday.

The burglaries remain unsolved but sheriff’s deputies have increased patrols in the communities of Mt. Olivet and Eureka, where the break-ins occurred.

“They hit homes in the middle of the day when people are at work,” Darby said. “They hit them fast and then they were gone.”

Items taken included firearms, TVs — “anything they could take quickly,” said the sheriff.
Homes were burglarized on Woodruff, Mt. Olivet and Shiloh roads, said Panola Supervisor Kelly Morris.

Darby acknowledged that the thieves managed to steal from the homes without any reports of suspicious activity to the sheriff’s department.

“People are probably seeing them and don’t know what’s going on,” Darby said. “You should keep an eye out and report any suspicious vehicles that don’t belong in their neighborhood.”