KATY, Texas — (Constable Ted Heap’s Office / Press Release) — Deputies arrested a Katy man on drug charges and recovered thousands of stolen power tools stored in his home. The value of the stolen merchandise is estimated to be more than a million dollars.
Precinct 5 deputies, working with the Texas Department of Public Safety, executed a search warrant in the 1500 block of Hoveden on Wednesday, October 28. Inside the home, deputies found floor-to-ceiling, organized stacks of power tools, tool sets and other items, many of them believed to be stolen from Home Depot stores in the Houston area as well as other states.
“They would take the stuff and just walk out with it,” said Constable Ted Heap, “Think of the amount of money that is being lost by these companies on this organized retail crime. When that happens, the loss has to be passed on somewhere, and it’s being passed on to us, the consumer, in escalated prices that we have to pay for the merchandise because of this.”
This Texas drug dealer had a LEGIT "Home" Depot inside his house.
The value of the stolen merchandise is estimated to be more than &1M. pic.twitter.com/9a4CSVDqrC
— GrantB911 (@GrantB911) October 30, 2020
A large amount of crystal meth, hydrocodone, marijuana and cash were also found inside the home.
Steven Lane Skarritt, 62, was arrested on felony charges of drug possession and delivery. Investigators are still looking into who is responsible for the theft and resale of the merchandise. Further charges may be forthcoming.
