The Victim: Carol Davila
The Crime: Burglary
Date: Thursday, Feb. 24
Time: 2:45 p.m.
Location: 1600 block of Cascade
According to Gallup, the U.S. unemployment rate reached 10 percent in mid-February. Unfortunately, Carol Davila’s husband was one of those statistics. He works in construction, and with the slowdown in that industry, both nationwide and locally, he found himself laid off from his job in January.
Davila says she has been able to hold onto her job, but like many people, she is a bit nervous about what the near future holds for her family as her husband searches for employment.
It was right at this tough juncture that a crook found an opportunity to victimize the Davilas in their Elmwood neighborhood home.
“They broke in through the back window,” the mother of two says. “A neighbor saw a suspicious car earlier in the neighborhood and called the police.”
Davila’s husband came home from some errands around 2:45 in the afternoon, and was shocked at what he saw.
“It was a mess in every room,” she says. “He heard them run out when he came in with our 4-year-old daughter.”
Family and friends were happy the two were uninjured, considering the possibility of coming face-to-face with the crooks. The burglars made off with thousands of dollars in electronics and jewelry as well as some cash. The break-in was just another negative for a family already attempting to make ends meet in these trying economic times.
So far, police have not recovered any property, but the neighbor was able to take a photo of the license number of the suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood.
Dallas Police Lt. Santos Cadena of the Southwest Patrol Division says the information provided by the neighbor actually helped lead to an arrest in this case, and he strongly encourages neighbors to watch for people who might look out of place in their neighborhoods.
“The neighbor actually provided very useful information,” Cadena says. “As it turned out, an officer used the description and license number and took two people into custody later.”
Sometimes, however, a thief may use a stolen car or stolen license plate number, which can complicate the investigation. But any description will at least give officers something to look for each day as they patrol their neighborhoods.
“Our officers in the field are always on the lookout for these things. Information provided by a neighbor is going to at least give the detective a lead in cases like this.”
