The Victim: Robert Pennington
Location: 11000 block of Paddock Circle
Date: Sunday, April 13
Time: 6:15 p.m.
It pays to have neighbors that care and look out for each other.
Just ask Robert Pennington. He was returning home that cool Sunday evening when his neighbors approached him in his driveway.
“I drove up after going to the grocery store and my neighbors were right there and asked if I saw the getaway car,” Pennington says. “I told them I had no idea what they were talking about. They pointed to my son’s car [1996 Toyota].
“They said that an old Chevy Tahoe pulled to the front curb and a guy from the passenger side jumped out and broke my son’s car driver side window. I guess the sound of the breaking glass caught the neighbor’s attention. They told the young men to get the hell out of there and they sped off.”
Pennington says the nice weather allowed his neighbors to work on their lawns and generally mill about, which he was thankful for.
“Your neighbors look out for each other and this is a good example of that happening,” he says.
Pennington says that the reason his son’s car was targeted was because he left his faceplate on his CD player. Pennington has owned Cal’s Auto Credit in South Dallas for 26 years and knows a little bit about the car business and what thieves look for.
“I must have told him a million times to take that faceplate off,” Pennington says. “Being in the car business, I know the older cars have aftermarket CD players and the newer cars don’t.”
Dallas Police Sr. Cpl Eddie Crawford, who has 35 years of experience on the beat, says it pays to get familiar with your neighbors.
“Of course there is nothing like having nosy neighbors,” Crawford says. “Just like the ‘Bewitched’ character Mrs. Gladys Kravitz. They help keep the crime away. And regular burglars don’t like to be seen and are scared off when they are confronted.”
