Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The arrest of a Port Arthur man on allegations of burglary of a habitation could be a relief for some in the Pear Ridge area, where a number of crimes have occurred.

In addition, police believe there is a correlation between Wednesday’s arrest of Larry Hebert, 25, on a burglary charge and a drive-by shooting that took place just before 2 a.m. Tuesday in the 3600 block of 41^st Street. Police are not saying what the correlation is at this time.

Port Arthur Police officers and SWAT personnel executed a search and arrest effort in the 4200 block of Lansing Avenue, leading to Hebert’s arrest.

The suspect is being held in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility on a $200,000 bond, according to information from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Henry Barbosa, acting president of Concerned Citizens of Pear Ridge, said he heard complaints from neighbors of the crimes in the community. He is also aware of burglaries in his neighborhood less than half a block from his home.

“Are they related to him? I don’t know,” Barbosa said of Wednesday’s arrest.

The Concerned Citizens of Pear Ridge group is one of a number of neighborhood watch programs in the city. Barbosa has seen membership dwindle through the years, he said of the organization, which sprung up in reaction to the crimes, and killings, of Port Arthur serial killer Elroy Chester.

Chester was executed in 2013.

Burglaries in the area

Det. Mike Hebert said the investigation into the burglaries started after Hurricane Laura as residents evacuated the city.

“There were certain individuals that came into this neighborhood and began to break in their homes,” Hebert said Wednesday morning from the scene of the SWAT action. “It was a shock to these people.”

Hebert described the location as a middle class neighborhood, saying the residents were shocked to find homes broken into, TVs stolen and jewelry rummaged through.

The neighbors spoke out, he said, and a town hall meeting was held not long afterward with the promise that police would try to get some justice for them.

“Today was that day where justice was served,” Det. Hebert said. “We’re looking at one particular individual for several burglary charges.”

The detective said Larry Hebert was arrested in connection to a burglary that happened last week in which “a substantial amount of evidence was obtained.”

“This case was put together with the help of the crime scene technicians. They really made this case and good police work by the investigator on the case,” Det. Hebert said. “Now we have to go through and look at all of the burglaries. We are very confident (the suspect) is the actor in the burglary this past week.”

Det. Hebert said police spoke with more than a dozen neighbors in the area who were excited and relieved an arrest had been made.