Mauriceville Eatery Feels Crime Wave

By Mike D. Smith, The Beaumont Enterprise, Texas

Oct. 10–As a new eatery six months into operation, the Mauriceville Seafood Restaurant has had a cruel introduction to the dark side of business: crime.

Last month, a burglar broke a window before apparently being scared off by the alarm, manager Amy Phan said.

Two weeks later, a burglar destroyed the restaurant’s utility box and ripped out the phone line, which sent a power surge through the building, frying the cash register and computer, Phan said.

Burglars didn’t take anything either time but might as well have.

“It’s a lot of money to replace (those items),” Phan said.

Mauriceville business owners such as Phan have been dealing with a crime spike that includes break-ins and burglaries aimed at property and some aimed at people.

Orange County Sheriff’s Capt. David Reeves, who heads the department’s investigative division, said during a brief phoone conversation Tuesday evening that an investigator is assigned to the Mauriceville area.

Reeves had told an Enterprise reporter he would call back at a specified time, but did not, and he could not be reached for further comment about the community’s crime situation.

Phan said authorities did arrest a young man suspected of the first strike against her restaurant.

As for the second hit, Phan said no one contacted her to complete an incident report, which she needs to file insurance claims.

Despite the inconvenience, Phan said she has no plans to stop serving up home-cooked seafood to Mauriceville’s supportive customer base.

“The customers here are real nice, real sweet,” Phan said. “I hope they (law enforcement) have more security in here and they take care of things.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Beaumont Enterprise, Texas

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