Tom Thumb at Old Town, Lovers Lane at Greenville
Dallas Police are warning the public to beware after a Lake Highlands woman was mugged in a Tom Thumb parking lot. She was the fifth woman targeted in a shopping center parking lot in the past couple of weeks.
The woman, who prefers I withhold her name since the mugger remains at large, gave the following account.
“It was 2:20 last Tuesday afternoon, and I was walking to my car. I was parked in the first space in front of the Tom Thumb at Lovers and Greenville, between the store and its gas station. I was walking toward my car, and man driving a black pickup truck (F-150/1500 sized) drove alongside me in the same direction I was walking. He was driving on the wrong side of the drive through. I had both hands on the handle of my shopping cart, pushing it, with my big bucket style bag on the shoulder nearest him. Because I had both hands on the cart, I wasn’t able to hold my bag at all. He had his window down, it was a beautiful day out, and he reached and grabbed my bag by the handle behind my shoulder. At first, I thought my purse had gotten hung on his side mirror, but I saw his arm extended and realized he was taking it. It all happened so fast, I fell to the pavement, and my cart turned over as well. I had stocked up on wine, embarrassingly enough, and had 12 bottles in the top area of one of the small black carts. Five of the bottles broke, so I was cut by the glass and had scrapes from the pavement. He managed to get my purse away from me as he was driving and kept driving in front of LA Fitness.”
In retrospect, the White Rock Valley resident says there are things she can do to be safer next time she is out running errands, and she wants to help keep her neighbors safe, as well.
“I was wearing my earbuds,” she says. “No music, no phone call, but I had both earbuds in my ears. Don’t be like me. And I had a big, easily grab-able bag. Also, I felt safe and I was not suspicious of someone driving that close to me. That was a mistake.”
In addition to the Old Town robbery, women have been mugged in parking lots at a Target on Central Expressway and Haskell, the Tom Thumb across from NorthPark Mall, a shopping center on Alpha near the Galleria and a center on Webb Chapel near Northwest Highway. Investigators are seeking to determine whether the crimes are connected.
“Always be aware,” reminds the victim. “I hope you will learn from my errors. I just want to help my fellow neighbors.”
