Police urging citizens to be vigilant

Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot renewed his call for Eunice residents to be on guard as a string of breakins, a home invasion and beating have occurred this week.
“Lock your vehicles,” Fontenot said.
“And, just let us know if you see any suspicious people in your neighborhood,” he said. “Now is a good time for neighborhood watch program to go to work.”
On Saturday, a 62-year-old man was threatened and beaten with a shotgun in the 600 block of Nimitz Street. The victim was treated and released at Acadian Medical Center.
About midnight Monday a home invasion and burglary occurred in the 400 block of Acadia Street. A trail of compact discs were seen at the residence Three black male juveniles, one wearing a red jacket, were reported at the scene.
All the incidents are under investigation and no arrests have been made, Fontenot said.
“Now whether it is some type of relation with the same people, we don’t know,” he said. “A lot of the complaints we have been getting seem to be related.”
Nothing significant has been stolen recently, he said. In some burlgaries guns were taken and a laptop was stolen recently.
The incidents started shortly after Mardi Gras.
Fontenot seeks a link to the a Feb. 7 shooting during a drug deal that resulted in the arrest of Theobegi Levier in Ville Platte on Feb. 25. Levier is charged with attemped first-degree murder and armed robbery.
“I think it got some of the kids excited and they started on a little crime spree,” Fontenot said, “That’s my opinion. I can’t prove it.”
Fontenot urged residents to call if they see any suspicious people in their neighborhood.
Since the weekend the illegal activity has picked up, he said.
“Before it was kind of sporadic, but this weekend it seems to have picked up with the exception of last night,” Fontenot said Wednesday morning.
“They are usually walking in small groups,” he said,
The Eunice Police Department telephone number is 457-2626, Option 6.
Since Feb. 1 police have recorded 10 simple burglaries, two felony thetts, three motor vehicle thefts, four counts of theft and three counts of unautorized use of a motor vehicle. The thefts and burglaries include those from vehicle vehicles