For the second time in just a handful of months, Frisco police say jewelry thieves are targeting elderly women and they’re resorting to an unusual stunt to prey on their victims.
In Frisco subdivisions, neighbors are taking notice as police warn a string of jewelry thefts has started up for the second time in one year.
"It's becoming a predictable pattern,” said a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous for safety.
The man, living in the Villages of Stonelake, said the crime has targeted older South Asian women, including his mother-in-law.
He said it happened last August, while his in-laws were visiting from India.
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"They were walking along this particular path and a car was already patrolling. I think they were just seeing who the ideal target would be,” he said.
He said a black Chevy Traverse, caught on neighbors’ Ring cameras, stopped the elderly couple at the intersection of Medallion Lane and Starry Night Lane.
The male driver distracted his father-in-law by asking for directions to the hospital for a pregnant wife.
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"He literally held my father-in-law's head into the car,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the woman hopped out and embraced his mother-in-law.
“She said, ‘You look like my mother,’ and was shouting all kinds of affections and started putting all kinds of fake jewelry on her. My mother-in-law didn't suspect anything, not in this neighborhood anyway,” he said.
It wasn't until minutes after the couple pulled off that his mother-in-law realized that during the encounter, the woman snatched her own gold necklace, a precious wedding gift.
Since the beginning of March, Frisco Police report there have been nine similar crimes reported.
They're encouraging people to keep their eyes open, to walk in groups and to keep valuables, like jewelry, out of site.
Suspicious activity can be reported to the Frisco Police Department at 972-292-6010. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by texting FRISCOPD and the tip to 847411 (tip411) or by downloading the Frisco PD app.
