Kenedy’s police chief is asking residents to take caution after the town saw a series of burglaries, break-ins, and incidents of arson near the holidays.

Two local businesses and the old school building were broken into January 2 and, prior to that, two abandoned buildings were set on fire in late December.

Karnes Insurance Agency and McAda Physical Therapy had windows smashed some time in the dark morning hours of January 2. Kenedy Police Chief Duane DuBose said he believes the same person or group of people is responsible for both incidents.

He also said he believes the insurance agency was hit first, then the physical therapy building was targeted very soon afterward. In both cases, nothing noticeable was taken.

Police have suspects and leads in each case, but are still asking local residents to come forward with any information on the break-ins or call the police department.

"In the last couple days, we’ve had more than our share (of incidents). It’s holidays. It’s that time that people are looking for easy money. It’s unfortunate that people take this action to do it," DuBose said. "We always ask people to make sure they lock their doors (and) anything they feel is valuable they need to either take photographs of it or write the serial numbers down."

The same early morning, smoke was reported in the area of the old school building on School Street in Kenedy. Fire department and police officials arrived to investigate the scene.

The small fire was put out and police recovered evidence from the scene that helped them make an arrest the next day. Three juveniles, whose names and ages weren’t released by Kenedy police, were charged with arson, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass.

A few days earlier December 31, the old Connie’s Bar building on Helena Street was intentionally set on fire. The building suffered smoke, water, and fire damage, including damage to one of the main exterior walls.

The fire came just two days after another that had occurred December 29 on North 3rd Street. DuBose said he believes the abandoned building, which suffered minor damage, also was intentionally set aflame.

Police still aren’t sure whether the two arson incidents are connected, but they’re reporting several persons of interest and suspects are emerging in each case.