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'He was in the building going unnoticed': Temple business owner wants unarmed burglar caught

By: Epiphany La'Sha

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TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — It was a scary feeling as Mandi Hickman sat in her office on December 30, when an unarmed man made his way around her pet clinic.

The suspect stole $700 in cash.
Presented fake work order.
Unknown if the suspect was armed.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT: She's showing me the video of the incident but, for safety reasons, does not want it shown. The man can be seen roaming the halls with no interaction with anyone in the store.
"Helps himself shuts the door behind him," Mandi Hickman, Practice Manager, said.

"And someone is walking in oh my God—and that is the doctor so they barely missed each other by seconds."

Mandi said the suspect stole 700 dollars from an employee's purse.

The suspect was in the building for over three minutes, but he didn't raise any red flags until the 20 seconds of his time captured on camera.

"This is where he ended up running into an employee—the employee asked him can I help you with something and he said yes, I’m here on a light repair, and my supervisor is in the car, and I'm assuming that it spooked him, "Hickman said.

The suspect takes off, running out of the building.

"It's extremely scary; I mean, he has this fake work order in his hand," Hickman said.

She tells me he doesn't look familiar to her, but it is a familiar face to some in Killeen and Belton. As our neighborhood reporter Josh Crawford first told you last week. Temple police confirm they are investigating the robberies.

"They need to capture this guy to keep employees and businesses safe," Hickman said.

"The fact that he was in the building going unnoticed for so long is the scary part," she continued.

If you have any information, you are encouraged to contact Temple Police Department.