HOUSTON – The holidays have taken a sour turn for a Houston woman.
Thieves followed her from a bank, broke into her car and stole her hard-earned cash in a crime police refer to as jugging. It was caught on surveillance camera, with the crooks taking less than a minute to strike and make their exit.
"They actually backed into a handicapped spot. And that's what alarmed me ... I thought something might be funny about it," recalled the woman who does not want to be identified. "But I didn't act on it."
The burglary and theft took place at the Phillips 66 on the 8600 block of the Southwest Freeway at Gessner around 9:30 a.m. Dec. 4. In the video, thieves can be seen pulling into that handicapped spot in a black Chevy Impala and once in place, one of them slowly opens the door and looks around. He sits back down and just when it seems he hesitates, he uses a device to break the passenger window of the victim's car. He is foraging through the front seat -- then spots what he was looking for.
"He jumps through the window and he grabs my money and they make a run for it," says the victim.
The crooks had followed the woman -- who doesn't want to be identified -- from the Chase Bank at the 8100 block of South Gessner. The victim had been working extra hours to pay for Christmas presents and a birthday party for her son.
She now wants the thieves to put themselves in her shoes.
"Think about your mother. If you have a daughter, think about her," she said. "Your grandmother, your aunt, your lady cousins. Think about humans altogether. Think about yourself. Would you want this done to you?"
Authorities said the burglars got away in a black Chevy Impala with a paper license plate #1140F7.
Anyone with information about the crime or the suspects is asked to call the Houston Police Department.