A family in southern Dallas is warning their neighbors to be extra cautious after a woman claiming to be a salesperson steals from their mother.
At 91-years-old Mary Aleman cannot do much by herself.
It's why her son, Felix, lives with her, and why the inside and outside of her Dallas home is equipped with surveillance cameras.
"Every time somebody comes we look at the video," said Maria Aleman, Mary's daughter-in-law.
After a salesperson came to Mary's door Wednesday April 13 the family checked the video. What they saw has left them completely shaken.
The woman said her name was Donna and that she was selling emergency medical alert devices. After tugging on the door a few times Mary lets the woman inside.
They chat briefly before Mary turns her back to leave the room. That's when the woman can be seen swiping a charm bracelet from a side table and puts it in her pocket. The piece of jewelry is inexpensive, but it has monumental value to Mary.
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"It was a charm bracelet that she had here of all of her sons that have been deceased and her husband," Maria said.
As Mary leaves the room to go get Felix, the woman rummages through her belongings some more. She hurries to sit down in a chair when she hears Felix coming. He enters the room and starts asking questions.
"I did ask her about the company that she worked for, but she didn't say anything," he said. "When I asked for a business card she kind of backed off. She didn't have an answer."
Felix called Maria who spoke to the woman on the phone.
"I said, 'Just leave a card I'm going to talk to my husband and we'll get back to you,'" Maria said. "She said we could hookup the device to our security system. I told her we didn't have security and she said, 'But you got cameras.'"
After hanging up the woman told Felix she would go to her car to get business cards, she never returned. The family is horrified by what happened and concerned for Mary's safety.
"She could have hurt her, you know? She could have easily struck her or pushed her down," Maria said.
"She's 91, she'll be 92 next month. It's a wake-up call," Felix said.
Dallas police do not have much of a description to go on, only that the woman is African-American and drives and navy blue Chevy HHR. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
