MIB / HPD Bust ID Thieves at Home Depot

MIB / HPD Bust ID Thieves at Home Depot

Around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, a Pct. 4 Deputy Constable responded to the Home Depot store in Porter to assist the Houston Police Department Auto Theft Task Force with a pair of suspects in a black Dodge pickup parked on the contractor side of the store. HPD officers said they followed the males from the Pearland area to the Humble Home Depot and then to Porter Home Depot.

HPD said the men were involved in multiple vehicle burglaries in which they took items related to their victims’ identification. One of the suspects, Kenneth Ray Boutte, used that information to create a credit account and purchased over $1,000 in merchandise at the Humble Home Depot. The second suspect, Joseph Ivory Guidry, Jr., then drove Boutte to the Porter location where he proceeded to get the credit limit raised, and purchase items totaling over $3,000.

The Pct. 4 deputy approached the pickup and requested identification from both men. Guidry gave consent to search, saying there was no contraband in the truck, as far he knew.

Guidry claimed he had known Boutte since childhood, and Boutte offered him money in exchange for driving him to Home Depot.

A search of Guidry’s vehicle yielded a glass pipe containing crack cocaine residue, as well as documents listing personal information of the victim whose identity was used to obtain the line of credit.

Kenneth Ray Boutte, 58, of 10521 Fairland in Houston, is charged with third-degree felony Engage in Organized Criminal Activity and state jail felony Credit Card or Debit Card Abuse.

Joseph Ivory Guidry, Jr., 58, of 10755 Dulcimer St. in Houston is charged with third-degree felony Engage in Organized Criminal Activity, state jail felony Credit Card or Debit Card Abuse, and state jail felony Possession of a Controlled Substance.

In the end, the merchandise went back to Home Depot, the truck was seized and Boutte and Guidry went to jail.

Pct. 4 Constable Kenneth “Rowdy” Hayden said while none of the vehicular burglaries the two men are suspected of committing occurred in Montgomery County, the story should still serve as a warning.

“It’s not only valuables you have to worry about leaving inside your vehicle, it’s also anything with personal information on it,” Constable Hayden said. “A skilled identity thief doesn’t need much to get started, and with a little research, they can use your name to get credit and make purchases, which can create problems that will plague you for years.”