August 29, 2010

GALVESTON - There are often unpleasant assignments in policing and a pair of Galveston officers drew the short straw on this one.

For the past several weeks the Wendy's Restaurant at 2328 Seawall Blvd. was being victimized by someone who appeared in the middle of the night and smeared human feces on the doors and windows of the building, to be discovered when employees arrived at work the next morning.

Determined to end these assaults on the restaurant which advertises, "Quaility is Our Recipe" Galveston police assigned two officers to surveil the place after hours.

Out of uniform and in what they call a 'Cool Car' (undercover car) officers Lorraine Franco and Joe Durr staked out  Wendy's at 3 o'clock this morning.  The place had closed and the employees had cleaned, locked up, and all gone home.

When the officers arrived, the trash had been taken from the dumpers in the rear of the building, scattered all around the property and feces had been smeared on the windows again.  The officers thought they had arrived too late but then found a bicycle parked behind a dumpster which lead them to search further and they found 46 year old Gregory Allen Chambers, crouched in the dark behind the building.

Chambers, a Galveston resident, part-time Wendys employee and brother of the Wendy's manager, was arrested and charged with Malicious Mischief.  Officers say he has admitted to previous instances of using 'smear tactics' on his sister's restaurant.

Examining Chambers past history of arrests there are indications of possibly an ongoing family feud. His arrests included Deadly Conduct, Assaulting a Family Member Causing Injury, Teroristic Threats, Criminal Trespass and Drug Possession.

Lt. Jorge Trevino, Commander of the East Island Patrol Unit, said the arrest of Chambers was another example of effective, proactive policing by Galveston officers and was complimentary of the quick and effective culmination of this case by officers Franco and Durr.

Breck Porter