FRIENDSWOOD – A Friendswood woman said the suspects in this case acted with a lot of determination, not only trailing her for nearly an hour from Prime Social Poker on Westheimer, but then proceeding to rob her twice.
“The safety of my children was my number one concern, and anything could’ve happened,” said the woman who does not want to be identified because of safety reasons.
Friendswood police believe she was a victim of jugging Sunday night-- a crime where a person is unknowingly stalked and then robbed.
In this case, investigators believe the intricate plot may have started at the Prime Social Poker Restaurant and Bar on Westheimer.
“I went to play poker and after I finished playing poker, I went to sonic to get a drink, and then I came home,” she said.
The 45-minute commute ended at her house on Dolan Springs Lane in Friendswood, but she said that was just the beginning of a terrifying ordeal.
“As I open the door, I saw somebody coming from the left side of me,” she said adding that the next thing she knew, she was staring down the barrel of a gun. “Very quickly, he just said, ‘hand it over!’ And he had a gun and pointed it at my face.”
Neighbors, in what’s described as a usually quiet community, are now stunned by the details.
“We never have any experience with any robbery,” said neighbor Shini Mathew.
“That had to be extremely scary,” said neighbor David Davis.
The victim said after her purse with her bank cards and about $200 was stolen, the thief and his accomplice took off in a light-colored sedan. Moments later, she got a call from what appeared to be her bank notifying her about suspicious activity.
“He said can you confirm your address, and so I confirmed my address, and then after several questions like that, he said just to confirm for verification purposes, what was your old PIN number,” she said.
After handing over personal information, she now knows it wasn’t the bank that called her.
“The card was canceled last night, but not before they got over a thousand dollars of transactions completed with my pin number. I talked to the person who was our thief and I just can’t believe it,” she said.
Remember, bank officials will never ask for your debit card pin over the phone or email.
To avoid jugging, police say that people should always be vigilant when leaving venues, especially banks and stores. If you feel you’re being followed, drive to the nearest police station and call 911. Anyone who knows about the suspects in this case is asked to call investigators.