Accused driveway robber Charles Hunt

Accused driveway robber Charles Hunt

Martha Ryan is glad to hear police say the driveway robbers have finally been caught.

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The longtime Lake Highlands resident and her family were held up at gun point on December 23rd, so it appears that they haven’t been counted in the numbers being quoted by police and news media when they mention up to 30 driveway robberies committed since January 1st in the Lake Highlands, White Rock Lake and Oak Cliff area. When police announced that the man suspected in the man/woman team was a convicted rapist once sentenced to life in prison but paroled after 11 years, Ryan was stunned.

“Our family was very excited and relieved when we saw on the news Thursday night that the police had caught the couple responsible for at least some of the driveway robberies,” she told me. “We felt confident upon seeing his face that he was the guy that robbed us. The man in the mugshot had eyes that very much resembled the guy that robbed us at gunpoint, and we had learned from our detective that an African-American woman was his accomplice and was seen using our credit cards within minutes of robbing us.

On the Monday before Christmas, Martha, husband Pat and their two daughters were returning home from a family gathering just after 11 p.m. “Out of the blue they appeared,” said Martha, taking purses, wallets and cameras. Police suspect they may have followed their neighbors – two women – home, but when the two disappeared behind an electronic gate, the Ryans became easy targets.

“The Dallas Police have worked hard since Dec. 23 to capture this couple, and we are very appreciative for the team effort they have made to put all the cases together that had similar driveway robberies. It was very scary to learn on the new that he is a convicted sexual offender and had been convicted of aggravated assault. We are thankful that God did protect us from anything more than being robbed at gunpoint. That was traumatic enough. We are so grateful that all he wanted was our possessions.

“It is frustrating to learn that he was out on parole after receiving a life sentence from his previous history. We are glad he is off the streets to prevent anyone else from being victimized by them and hope this time he will stay off the streets.”