The Victim: Mary Petty
The Crime: Burglary
Date: Thursday, April 15
Time: Between 8:15 a.m. and 7:40 p.m.
Location: 7000 block of Wake Forest
The kicked-in back door made the burglary immediately evident.
Mary Petty had been running some errands after work before arriving at her University Terrace home. She climbed out of her car and immediately noticed her backdoor had been kicked in. Hesitantly she entered the house, but the burglars were gone.
“I’m pretty sure I came home while they were there because they only got a few things,” she says. “They left my laptop, and it was out in plain sight. They obviously ran out of here in a hurry. It was still daylight out; it was pretty ballsy.”
A survey of the house left her suspecting that the burglar ran out the front door because the deadbolt was left unlocked and could only be accessed from inside the home.
“No one in the neighborhood saw anything,” Petty says. “It was stupid to come in the house, but luckily no one was in there.”
Entering the home could have put her in danger, she says, but at the time it did not enter her mind to stay outside. Once inside, she immediately called 911. The home was ransacked with things strewn about her bedroom and home office. After thinking about the dangerous possibilities of going in the home, Petty was a bit unnerved by the incident.
“By the time it set in on Friday, it really scared me,” she says.
Among items the burglars took were a camera and Apple iTouch. She also estimates it will cost $450 to repair the damage to her French door.
For 25 years, Petty has worked for a Dallas firm of defense attorneys and has seen personally how drug addictions can lead many to crime as a source of money. She still does not see that as an excuse to invade homes.
“I have no respect for people who would just kick in a door and steal something that’s not theirs,” Petty says. “It’s not like when I was a kid and you didn’t have to worry about these things. Luckily, they didn’t get any of my jewelry.”
Dallas Police Sgt. Keitric Jones of the Northeast Patrol Division advises residents to call police first if they encounter a situation in which a burglar might be in their home.
“Take every precaution possible. When you walk up to your house, look for unusual signs of possible entry. If found do not go inside, and dial 911 immediately,” he says. “If you do happen to walk in on a burglar, it is important to remember ‘person over property’. Your life is more important than your property. Try and back away and dial 911. If unable to back away and you are forced to protect yourself, do so by whatever means necessary.” —SEAN CHAFFIN
