Criminals in Springtime

by Pat Brown

Aaaahhh! I woke up this morning to chirping birds, blue sunny skies, and warm temperatures. I jumped into my shorts and tank top and pulled my flip-flops from the closet. Spring means renewal for me; my mood brightens and my energy comes back. The bear is out of the cave!

The change of weather means something to criminals, too, and sometimes we forget that. Oh, happy day, for the serial killer on the bike path, the scantily clothed female joggers are out. Spring break? Woo hoo! Young college girls, high and happy, fueled by youthful optimism and fearlessness, out and about in bulk. More people are out on the streets, in bars, in parks, on beaches, running, walking, driving, hiking.....victims, victims everywhere. Trolling is easier for the rapist, serial killer, or robber because he isn't being made miserable standing in the freezing cold waiting and waiting for some hapless victim to come by.

In a fascinating study done years ago in 1912, Cesare Lombroso found that crimes against people occurred more in the summer months. Even rebellions broke out far more often in hot weather than in, and if you traveled to South America in January when it is summer for them, you might want to check for rumbles of civil unrest before you go. Gangbangers and thugs love the summer months, too, raising the rate of drive-bys, robberies, violent assaults, and gang rapes.

In the United States, property crimes increase as well. More folks are enjoying outdoor activities, leaving their homes unattended and ripe for burglary. The increase of window and doors being left open or unlocked in residential homes or businesses makes for easy access for criminals. We also bring more workers onto our property in the warmer months. Home improvement fellows, painters, gutter cleaners, yard workers....most of those we employ we really know nothing about and we invite them onto our property and into our houses. There are a good number with criminal backgrounds because construction workers, handymen, and temporary employees can often get work without many questions being asked (burglar window washer Matthew Bell on left). Some run their own business and advertise on index card with the phone number fringe at the local grocery store, and others are picked up as day laborers from the parking lot of a 7-11 or Home Depot and brought over in a truck. They can steal while they are on the job or they can case the place and come back later. Some unlock windows before they leave so they can access the residence later that night.

And let's not forget about our children. They love the warm weather, too! Now they are out and about on their bicycles, riding around alone just for the joy of it, riding to their friend's house, walking to and from stores and play dates, playing in the park, and swimming at the water hole. Some children are left alone for more hours in the summer because of they are out of school and their parents still need to work. Summer makes children all the more vulnerable and available.

There is one advantage the summer months have for improving our safety. If you are looking for an apartment or house to rent or buy, don't go check out the place during the day or in the winter. It always looks quiet. Drive on by in the evening during hot weather and you may find that peaceful looking brick building you admired during the workday or that tree-lined neighborhood where you saw that cute little house is now teaming with thugs and drug dealers.

My time of year is here and I love every minute of it, but I want to encourage all of you to stay safe. Remember, ladies, when you go jogging alone, even during the day, it only takes a minute for a sexual predator to leap out of the bushes and drag you off to your demise. Be sure you go running where there are lots of people, and criminals know there are too many witnesses. Be careful when you go partying and drinking, don't let the booze lower your inhibitions and disconnect your internal creep alert alarm, and stay with a group. Keep an eye on your children, don't leave them unattended, and be sure they aren't running around the neighborhood alone if they are not big enough to defend themselves. And do your best to check out who you let do work on your house, make sure you don't have valuables laying around, and be sure all your doors and windows are locked when the workers leave your property.

Happy Easter and Spring Break to all! Keep safe!

Tweet

Run, Scream, and Don't Get in the Car!

by Kathryn Casey

As far as we know, Susana De Jesus, 37, was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. On Monday, February 2nd, at 9:15 p.m., De Jesus walked out of the woman's clothing store, where she worked as an assistant manager, in Pearland, Texas, south of Houston, with a co-worker, probably tired and looking forward to going home. Her shiny new Cadillac was in the parking lot, and as she approached it, a man appeared out of the darkness wearing a ski mask and flashing a gun. He forced her into her car, and drove off. At the time of this writing Susana De Jesus remains missing.

This past weekend, a second Houston-area woman went missing, 27-year-old Sabrina Pina. Again, it appears she was abducted from a department store parking lot, this time in the middle of the afternoon. Sadly, Pina's body was found in a ditch yesterday. (As of this morning [Wednesday], it appears investigators are near an arrest and Pina may have known her killer.)

Reading about DeJesus and Pina, I started thinking about someone I've known for a long time, John Denholm. Until he retired last year, John (photo below left) was the lieutenant in homicide and robbery in the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Law enforcement's loss is the defense bar's gain, since John finished law school a while back and has signed on with Houston's Musick Law Firm. I considered John's 31 years in law enforcement and thought it would be a shame to waste all that knowledge, so I asked him to answer questions on how not to end up with our picture or the photos of our children on a missing flier. Here's his advice:

KC: Do you have any tips to prevent becoming a target?

JD: Here's a laundry list: Don’t flash large sums of money in stores. Don’t wear large or conspicuous pieces of jewelry. Be alert to who is around you or who may be paying special attention to you. Park in well-lighted areas. Scan the area before you leave the store. Look for suspicious persons as you walk to your car. Lock your doors the instant you get in the car. Take a look at your surroundings before exiting your car. Disable the automatic unlock when you put the car in park. If something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. I tell people to “trust your gut,” because that little feeling is your primal fear instinct trying to warn you of a predator.

Here's a personal story about your primal instinct. Back in the late 1970s, I was working as a Killeen Police Officer. My wife was at home one afternoon with my infant son. There was a knock on the door. Without looking, she opened the door. Standing in the door was a stranger, in a dark shirt and tattoos. She told me later, that the instant she opened the door she knew had made a mistake. The guy looked over her shoulder and down the hall, and in a slightly eerie tone asked her, “So, is your husband home?”

My wife was scared bad right then. Her primal instinct was warning her. Fortunately, Cruiser, my 70-pound mutt, went right through the door and latched onto the guy's thigh, drawing blood. The man ran off. My wife was lucky. She could have been raped and strangled, and to this day believes Cruiser saved her life. Let me add something else. I NEVER took a burglary report at a house where there was a big dog.

KC: What do we do if we're approached in a parking lot?

JD: Start walking the other way. If pursued, scream. If caught, fight.

KC: Do you ever get in the car with an abductor, or is it always better to take your chances and run/scream.

JD: I will tell you what I tell my wife, my sisters, and my daughter: If you get in a car you are as good as dead, so you might as well fight for your life right then and there.

If you fight, people might see you and come to your aid. There might even be a concealed license handgun holder nearby. Even if no one helps, they will probably call 9-1-1. Yes, fight, even if he has a gun. Ninety-seven percent of people shot in combat, with heavier weapons than you encounter in a parking lot, survive. Basically, even if you are shot, you have a good chance of surviving. Don’t panic just because you are bleeding. You would be amazed at how much blood you have to lose before you even pass out, let alone die. Your best defense is a survival mindset that no matter what: I’m not getting in the car, and I AM NOT DYING!

KC: What if the guy has a gun? Does that change your response?

JD: No. But let me clarify, it's one thing if someone walks up to you, points a gun and says, "Give me your money." Statistically, you're way better off handing over your wallet or purse. Or if they want it, let them take your car. Don’t confuse a robbery with someone trying to force you into a car. They have mayhem on their mind.

KC: What's the biggest mistake people make when confronted by someone who means them harm?

JD: They underestimate the danger.

KC: What do we tell our kids to help keep them safe?

JD: Same thing they told us when we were kids. Stick together, stay away from strangers, and don’t get in a strange car. Teach kids how child predators try to trick them. Tell them to scream if someone tries to grab them.

KC: What's the smartest thing you ever saw a potential victim do to prevent a crime?

JD: A woman was driving home late one night. A truck hit her in the back of her car. BEFORE getting out to check, she called her husband and told him that she was just involved in an accident. It occurred right at the entrance to the subdivision. He jumped in his car and was there in two minutes. Just in time to see the truck drive off, and someone drive off in his car. Unknown to him, his wife had just been abducted and was being held in the truck, while the other crook was driving off in her car. The husband had a split second to decide, and he made the right decision: He chased the truck.

In the meantime, the wife started fighting and actually bit the crook’s little finger off. He crashed the truck and was captured, and is currently serving life in prison. There's no doubt in my mind that if this woman hadn't called her husband and fought, she would have been raped and murdered, and maybe even burned up in her car.Let me address this, if someone hits your car and you don’t like the area or who did it, crack your window and tell them you’ll pull into a parking lot where there are other people. If the person drives off, get their license. You can fix a car, but you can’t restore a life. While not a common technique to abduct or rob, it has happened.

One more thing: police impostors. If a car is unmarked but used for traffic, it will have tax exempt license plates. If it doesn’t, don’t run but don’t stop until a marked car arrives. If the person really is the police, there will be plenty of patrol cars soon enough. But use common sense. We're not talking about an unmarked car running radar on the freeway. We’re talking about the guy who tries to stop you on a dark road.

KC: Do we worry too much about crime?

JD: Yes. We do worry too much. The media is lazy. It is far easier to pay a “stringer” $100 a story to run calls off the police radio, than actually have a news department that does real journalism. I used to call the 5 a.m. news the carnage report, because all it is was the overnight shootings, fires, and car crashes. Is it any wonder Wall Street was robbing the country blind while the news was reporting on the Lacy Petersen murder or Brittany’s breakdown?But in reality, your chances of being a victim of violent crime are pretty slim. Most people who get murdered are involved in illegal activity, or living a lifestyle that invites trouble. If you're not selling dope or sleeping with someone else’s spouse, or shooting pool in bar a 1:00 a.m., you probably won’t get killed. When you consider the victims of violent crime per capita, you understand that you truly are fairly safe.

Tweet