By Jason Clay Jansky

Criminals struck again in Kenedy on Main Street last week, vandalizing the Kenedy Masonic Lodge building and setting a minor fire there March 2 and also destroying property inside Stimson Furniture March 4.

The two incidents happened during the early morning hours and both caused considerable amounts of damage to each building.

Inside Stimson Furniture, the vandals emptied out file cabinets, wrecked fax machines, computers, and other electronic devices in the office area of the building. They also stole food.

Inside the Masonic lodge, furniture was destroyed and parts of the building were damaged by smoke and, after the fire department arrived, water.

Kenedy Volunteer Fire Department firefighters had the fire under control before it managed to cause serious damage to the lodge building.

"The fire was put out before it could do major damage to the structure," Kenedy Police Chief Duane DuBose said.

Evidence was left at both scenes that tied the incidents to other recent cases of burglary, arson, and vandalism in town, according to DuBose.

Head to Toe, another business on Main Street, was broken into February 24. The place was trashed and several items including cosmetics and food were taken.

An abandoned building on North 3rd Street was intentionally set on fire December 29 last year, but suffered only minor damage.

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

Karnes Insurance Agency and McAda Physical Therapy had windows smashed some time in the dark morning hours January 2. A desk was vandalized at the insurance company and the burglars moved on to the physical therapy building where it was believed an alarm caused them to flee after breaking in.

Each incident appears to have been caused by the same two individuals, DuBose said. He suspects a teenage girl and boy are responsible, but is asking the help of the community to identify them.

"We do believe that these cases are related. We’re looking for information from residents, shop owners, and the public. We have several people of interest that we have talked to and right now we’re still looking at possible suspects. They’re juvenile in age and we do believe are both male and female. If anybody sees anyone walking around at night in the areas … contact the sheriff’s office."

All the crimes have been committed during early morning hours in Kenedy, mostly along Main Street. Police believe the individuals responsible were on foot during each of the burglaries and arson cases.