He grabbed her purse — but she held on
The Victim: Louise Reeves
The Crime: Robbery
Date: Friday, April 8
Time: 5:45 p.m.
Location: 10700 block of Preston
Louise Reeves had gone out to run a few errands, and was coming out of her neighborhood bank just before closing time on a Friday. She made a deposit, and was about to get into her car and head home. An SUV was parked next to her car in front of the bank, and she clutched her purse as she prepared to get in. Suddenly, she felt a powerful tug on her purse. She didn’t see who it was immediately, but instinctively held on.
“They didn’t get my purse because my strap broke,” says Reeves, who has lived in Preston Hollow for 25 years.
The man had come around the SUV while she was not looking, and attempted to grab and go. He probably did not anticipate that this spunky woman was not going to be a victim.
“He was running real fast,” Reeves says. “The bank manager thought I hollered, ‘Help’, but I hollered ‘No’. I put that purse in a hammer lock.”
The suspect kept running after the strap broke, and didn’t get away with anything during the attack. The attempted robbery lasted less than a minute, and Reeves did not get a good look at the robber, who is believed to have been working with another suspect functioning as a lookout. A customer attempted to follow the men after the robbery, but was unsuccessful.
Unfortunately, the attack knocked Reeves to the ground, leaving her with slight injuries such as scratches on her elbow and bruises on her knees. But Reeves says she learned some lessons from the experience and is glad she did not have to go through the process of cancelling all her credit cards.
“Nothing has ever happened like this to me before,” she says. “Keep your ID and credit cards on your body and not in your purse. Now I always keep my keys in my pocket. Don’t take anything of any serious value in your purse.”
Reeves says police told her there have been similar robberies recently near other area banks. Despite the crime, Reeves is hopeful her attacker will find a better path in life.
“I’m so blessed that he didn’t get anything,” she says. “This young man couldn’t have been over 21. I just thought, ‘I hope God helps him and changes him.’ He’s too young to get caught up in this way of life.”
Dallas Police Lt. Richard Dwyer of the North Central Patrol Division confirms two other purse snatches outside banks that occurred in February in the 12900 block of Coit and the 15100 block of Preston.
“The detective has developed some leads on this case as to who the suspects may be,” Dwyer says. “Right now, he is in the process of trying to re-contact the witnesses to confirm some information.
Dwyer offers some warnings for women who find themselves in similar situations.
“A couple things to keep in mind is that material things can be replaced, and that a woman can be seriously injured if she holds onto a purse as a person snatches it and runs.
“Also, while exiting the bank, a person may want to have their keys already out and in their hand. This way they are not fumbling or looking for the keys as they walk to the car and therefore less aware of the people around them. In addition, if something does occur, the person can press the car alarm button on their key fob to bring attention to themselves.”
2
Number of car burglaries that happened near Jesuit Preparatory School May 3
7200
Block of Lavendale where someone broke into a 2007 Dodge Charger, parked in front of the owner’s home; While nothing was stolen, it’s the second time the vehicle has been burglarized in the past two months
05.01
Date when a man was stabbed twice in the stomach by an unknown suspect at the Spanish Point Apartments in the 4100 block of Harvest Hill; The victim survived and was transported to Parkland Hospital
