Paying Attention Pays Off
Nosey Neighbor Helps Stop Crime

We would like to share with you this wonderful story about how a Richland Park resident unknowingly helped stop a crime from happening.

We received a phone call from a resident living in the 400 block of Sheffield. She was a very nice person with a bubbly personality. She said earlier that morning around 5am, she heard a car outside, and thought that was quite unusual. She saw a light color SUV (possibly a Lincoln Navigator) with two black males (one driver, and one walker.) The walker was seen looking very closely at her neighbor’s cars which were parked out on Sheffield. She turned on her front porch light to get a better look outside. When these people saw the porch light come on, they quickly jumped in their SUV and took off. The neighbor thought this was strange.

According to the police, this neighbor unknowingly stopped a vehicular burglary from happening that morning. The simple act of observing unusual events around her, helped stop that crime from happening. The only thing this woman could have done better was to immediately call 911 (or 972 744-4800), and report the very same information she gave me six hours later! Had the woman called 911, there is a very good chance the Richardson police could have caught these suspects.

On a side note, We went to this woman’s home to thank her for getting involved. Unfortunately, she was not home, so we then went to the neighbor’s house whose cars were being targeting earlier that morning. This gentleman was nice, but didn’t quite believe this story. He was sure there was no crime in this neighborhood. After several minutes of discussion, We asked him a simple question, "Would  he give me his car".  We certainly would take good care of it. To us, it seemed like he was willing to give it away by leaving it parked out in the open, so we thought we would just get the crime over by politely asking for his car. The gentleman finally started to understand our dilemma, and agreed to park the car in the garage.

We also recommended to this gentleman he buy dinner for his neighbor for saving him from the possibility of yet another car theft. Hopefully, this man will clean out his entire garage and park both his vehicles in each night; this is the only way we are going to stop the vehicular burglaries that plague Richland Park/Oaks at night.

Pay Attention to Your Surroundings

Always be aware of your immediate surroundings. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Never enter your garage when an unknown car is nearby. Drive around the block until the car is gone. The best person to protect your family is you!