Dallas Police are warning people about a second robbery and kidnapping outside a local Walgreens store. Both victims were robbed by a man who hid in their unlocked vehicles in the parking lot while they shopped.
The most recent case happened at around 2:15 p.m. on Sunday. Police say a man hid in an unlocked vehicle in the parking lot of the Walgreens at 5001 Ross Avenue with a gun. When the car owner left the store and got into the driver’s seat, the robber was in the back and forced the victim to drive to four ATM’s to attempt to pull out cash. Eventually, the man forced the victim to drive back to his home in Deep Ellum where the robber stole the victim’s vehicle.
The robber’s M.O. is similar to another robbery on January 20th at 12:30 a.m. outside the Walgreens at East Mockingbird Lane and Matilda in Dallas. The victim came out of the store and was surprised by a man hiding the backseat of the vehicle. He forced her to drive to two ATM’s to pull cash before getting out of her vehicle in the M-Streets neighborhood and leaving on foot.
Surveillance video from outside that Walgreens showed a man in the parking lot checking car doors for nearly 30 minutes, according to police. Police are asking people to be vigilant about any unusual behavior outside stores.
“It’s behavior like that, where an individual can linger around a parking lot for 27 minutes and lift up handles on various vehicles, trying to find an unlocked vehicle that we need to get those calls to the police,” said Deputy Chief Thomas Castro. “Somebody needs to call 911.”
Police say there may have been a break in the case on Monday night. Authorities in Kansas spotted the stolen vehicle and attempted to pull the driver over. He took off and police chased him. Police in Kansas arrested the 17 year old after a crash. Dallas Police say detectives plan to travel to Kansas as soon as Wednesday to interview him.
Police say it’s too soon to confirm if one person is behind both robberies or if other suspects could be involved.
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“We look at cases like this and sometimes when they have the same pattern, it turns out to be the same suspect,” said Castro. “We’re not ready to commit to that statement at this time. Once we get a little more information, do some digging into this we’ll have a better understanding of if we’re dealing with the same suspect on these two offenses.”
