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Special Report: Duplicate keys at Waterford Apartments?

Posted at 4:36 PM, Jul 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-30 17:36:00-04

Just five months after moving into the Waterford Apartments, Vicky Tijerina is ready to move.

“I don’t even feel safe being in that apartment complex,” said Tijerina.

Tijerina gave birth to her third child Tuesday, Wednesday the family came home to find their apartment burglarized.

“They took everything, even the newborn Pampers,” said Tijerina.  “They took my one-year old’s Pampers, they took everything.  All of my clothes, all of my shoes, all of his clothes, all of his shoes.”

That’s not all.  Televisions, appliances, tablets, even a Yeti cooler, all gone.  But CCPD investigators couldn’t find where someone broke into the apartment.

“My house was secure,” said Tijerina.

As Tijerina told her neighbors her story, one of them had a startling revelation.  Her key to apartment 902 opens three of the four doors in this building.

Cell phone video shows Tijerina and her neighbors testing keys on various doors, most unlocked.  KRIS 6 News went to the rental office but was referred to the offices of Pinnacle Inc., in Dallas.

A statement from the owner of the apartments stated:

“Once we receive notification of an issue, it is addressed as promptly as possible. We are currently reaching out to residents to rekey affected units.

The wellbeing of our residents at Waterford Apartments is a top priority and we strive to create a great community for them to call home. Residents who have been impacted will be granted a release from their lease if requested.”

“We didn’t hear anything,” said Emily Garza, who lives in the apartment upstairs from the Tijerinas.  Garza says she’s never really felt safe at Waterford, less so now.

“Our key shouldn’t open up anybody’s door, and their key shouldn’t open up anybody else’s door,” said Garza.  “How are you going to run an apartment complex when everybody has the same key?”

CCPD investigators couldn’t talk about specifics of the case because of the ongoing investigation.  However, KRIS 6 News learned the Tijerinas’ burglary was the third at the Waterford Apartments in the last month, but the first without signs of forced entry.

UPDATE: Tijerina said management told her they will release her from her lease agreement. There’s no word yet on whether she will have to pay a penalty fee. She was told they will discuss whether or not she will be penalized when she returns her keys.

Tijerina also said several residents are changing their locks on their own and not providing spare keys to the management office.