Dear Gaines Investment Trust/Front office at The Villas at Katy Trail,

The letter is to serve as the voice of the Villas at Katy Trail community. 

              There has been a dramatic increase in criminal activity over the past few months in the community mainly located within the gated portion of the parking garage.  The criminal activity has included storage units being broken into, neighbors’ windows being broken, items being stolen from their vehicles, the vandalism of an EV charger, and most recently a community member’s wheels being stolen off of their truck. 

              The aforementioned crimes have all been timely and satisfactorily reported to the front office.  The office of the Villas at Katy Trail has stated on multiple occasions that they would “look into it.”  All of the investigations from the front office have come to no conclusion or solution to the individuals problem.  The only occasion the problem was solved was due to the vehicle being vandalized having multiple cameras built into it which ultimately caught the culprit.  Without the personal motivation of the resident, this incident would have likely ended at “we will look into it.” 

              On 9/30/21, the day prior to the truck’s wheels being stolen, all residents were sent an email titled “INCREASED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.”  The four solutions stated in the email were to 1) remove all items from vehicles after parking 2) always close doors behind you and not prop doors open unattended 3) Stay vigilant when entering into the garage and 4) keep yours heads on a swivel and always call 911 for any suspicious activity.  The email had one theme and that theme was for the ultimate responsibility of security to lye on the residents.  In addition, all of these incidents had one thing in common.  All the doors were locked and most had nothing stolen.  This is further evidenced by the windows being broken.  Management has also been recorded stating that these incidents are “out of [their] control” and “if they want to get in [the parking garage to commit crimes] they’ll get in.”  These are weak statements.  By making sound decisions and implementing well thought out plans by management, the criminal activity will decline.  It’s a matter of incentive.

The community members of The Villas at Katy Trail are now asking for an actual solution from the Gaines Investment Trust.  The cameras are clearly not sufficient as one was spray painted in order for the criminal activity to take place and the front office has never caught any culprits with the system.  Their needs to be a better solution than cameras and for residents to “keep [their] heads on a swivel.”  It is recommended a security guard patrol the area during reasonable hours throughout the night as the increase in criminal activity is extreme.  If no sufficient decisions are made by the Gaines Investment Trust, the criminal activity is imminent. 

The community of The Villas at Katy Trail thanks you for the consideration to improve the security of the property specifically within the gated portion of the parking garage.

Sincerely,

The community members of The Villas at Katy Trail.