Man caught on camera stealing propane tank in Taylor

TAYLOR, Texas - Taylor police are looking for help identifying a suspect who was caught on camera stealing a propane tank. 

Police say the suspect went through a hole in a fence in the alley belonging to 108 East 2nd Street. 

In surveillance video, you can see the suspect bring his bike, pulling a wagon, closer to the fence. Then he puts the propane tank on his wagon and struggles to turn the bike around, but the propane tank falls off. He puts it back on the wagon and walks off with it. 

"That's a pretty rare theft, at least here in Taylor," Commander Joseph Branson with Taylor police said. 

The suspect was dressed in a light-colored oversize jacket, dark pants, baseball cap, and was riding a blue bike pulling a blue wagon.

"Sometimes it just goes back to old school investigation, getting out, talking to potential witnesses, talking to business owners in the area, see if they've seen people that they don't recognize or been suspicious of. Then some of the newer technology, the cameras that we have around town, we're able to utilize those in some cases as well," Branson said.

Crime statistics show from 2022-23, there has been a slight increase in property thefts. 

"Burglaries of a building are up a little bit. Our thefts are up, and what we call unauthorized use of motor vehicle or stolen vehicles are a little up this year," Branson said. "We do have crimes like assault, is up from last year. Family violence calls are actually down, so we're happy to see that trend. Aggravated assaults are a little up."

Homicides are down.

"We haven't seen huge spikes, and we haven't seen huge decreases from '22 to '23, so we'll see what '24 brings, but we feel like we're ready," Branson said.

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Police say the propane tank was worth about $134.

Data shows in Dec. 2023, $91,086 worth of property was reported stolen. $20,000 worth of property was recovered that month. 

As more people come to Taylor, "we don't ever want to see crime rise. However, with a growing population, that's one of the challenges you face," Branson said.

When it comes to preventing property crime in general, remember to hide your items, take your valuables, and lock your doors. 

"We like to just remind people to get your valuables out of view as best you can," Branson said.

If you know who the suspect is in the propane tank case, call Taylor police at 512-352-5551.