Crime In The Heights

[kylejack]

I'll post it on Stolen Bike Hunt (FB group).

[samagon]

Are they in your possession, or the police? If no one claims them in a decent amount of time, I'd recommend donating to 3rd ward bike shop (or similar, they're just the only ones I know). They fix up unwanted bikes and give them to local underprivileged kids.

 

Good luck finding the owners.

[kat_zor]

We have already turned them in to the Constable. Don't really have the space to keep four extra bikes, nor do we want the thieves to have extra temptation at our house!

[samagon]

I don't know what the constable will do with them after they decide no one is going to claim them? Might be worth checking with them how long they will hold on to them, and what they do after that time is up. If you want, I can PM you my number, and if they just plan on destroying them... You can have them call me and I'll take them off their hands and get them to 3rd ward bicycles myself. 

 

I'd assume that they would donate if no one claims them, rather than just junking them, but I don't know?

 

let me know!

[kylejack]

They won't get destroyed, they'll get taken to HPD's property room where someone will eventually try to match the serials to police reports. That's how I got mine back after two years.

[fwki]

Time to get a crime thread going again....posted on Nextdoor last night:

"Just to let you know (sadly) - my husband and I were walking home around 10:30 from Fitzgerald's tonight and two african american males with hoodies, and guns, held us up - at Norhill and Woodland.

Luckily they only stole my husband's wallet. But two men on foot, who said, "delicate flower, I will shoot you," is a very scary thing - I screamed, ran, and shouted back as loudly as I could - but my very Zen husband was calm enough to save both of our lives and gave the men what they wanted.

After dialing 911, the police came within a few minutes. Another couple (walking a few minutes behind us) saw the two men run to their car and drive away, eastward towards Michaux and turn left, towards Pecore. They also gave their statement.

Everyone - please be very safe - we did not even see them! They took us completely by surprise, scared us to death, held us both at gun point and demanded money or wallets, etc. And Norhill is very well lit!"

 

This is the first ambush robbery I remember in a long while this deep in the gentrified Heights.  This pair will strike again, maybe a car-exit ambush in a driveway.....be alert and to those who can, lock and load.

 

 

 

[kylejack]

No car description?

[fwki]

More details:

..."Just thought I should provide a few more details about the incident for anyone interested. First of all, they were in a car waiting for us - according to the couple that was walking home down Euclid. ... View more They ran up behind us, both had revolvers, hoodies and bandanas though my guy pulled his down when he spoke to me. At first they didn't say anything and just pointed the guns at us. They were young, 18-25, 5 foot 2 or 5-5, I'm 5' 7 and they were shorter than me. My husband thought the men were Hispanic, mainly because he actually spoke to one more than I did. I was screaming and yelling because I thought a neighbor might hear us though no one did - even though I could see a tv on in someone's window. My husband asked his robber to keep his ID from his wallet and the guy said yes, then Holger handed over his wallet. I was sort of freaking out and shouting at my guy, telling him I didn't have a wallet, etc. That was when he said he would shoot me.

What's weird is we both had our iPhones on us and I had cash, ID, credit cards etc in my pockets but my guy didn't come near enough to me - maybe because I was screaming at him so much - I don't know?

My husband was so calm that it looked almost like a friendly interaction. He also thought maybe it was a gang initiation type of thing because they seemed so inexperienced and young. And they didn't pat Holger down for his phone, etc.

Anyway, then they ran back to their car and drove off (small red sedan, broken tail light). They were parked at the corner house on Euclid and Norhill Esplanade (north side of the street), facing studewood. It's dark and shady there.

I did get angry and run after them, which in retrospect was the wrong choice. We chose to walk to dinner and Fitzgeralds because it was a beautiful night, we are mindful of our fellow neighbors and frankly, parking is ridiculous over off of White Oak.

It was only 10:30 at night and there were other people out on Studewood - it just seemed so out of place.

Anyway, everyone be mindful of your surroundings and be safe! And thanks for all the emails and thoughts!"

[august948]

Here's what a Chron version of this would look like...

"Two people robbed two people and then may have driven away in a car."

Good to get a little more detail on what to be on the lookout for, for a change.

[KinkaidAlum]

The wife reports they were African-American males. The husband thinks they were Hispanic little people. Maybe later, they can update it to report that they were Vietnamese gang-bangers in wheel chairs.

[heights]

The wife reports they were African-American males. The husband thinks they were Hispanic little people. Maybe later, they can update it to report that they were Vietnamese gang-bangers in wheel chairs.

 

People who have been the victim of a violent crime are often unsure of the descriptions of suspects and/or vehicles.  It is very understandable and I don't think they should be criticized.  Fortunately they were not harmed.

 

With the exception of the arsons and that string of robberies a few years back, we are lucky that crime in our area is primarly non-violent property crime.  According to the HPD crime stats for March 2013, the beat that includes most of the Heights (2A30) had 3 robberies, 1 aggravated assault, and 116 non-violent property crimes.

 

Compare this to crime-ridden Sunnyside (14D20's beat) which had 1 murder, 16 robberies, 32 aggravated assaults, and 113 property crimes.

 

We should continue to look out for our neighbors and report all suspicious activity to the police.

[KinkaidAlum]

Sorry, but if you can't tell the difference between African-American males and short Hispanic males, then maybe you shouldn't give a racial description. Or, at the very least, consult with your husband and get your story straightened out before you send out an alert. 

 

Crime sucks and it's scary as all hell to get held up at gunpoint (I know this personally having had it happen to me 13 years ago) but racial profiling against young black men is a serious problem. 

 

[RedScare]

Sorry, but if you can't tell the difference between African-American males and short Hispanic males, then maybe you shouldn't give a racial description. Or, at the very least, consult with your husband and get your story straightened out before you send out an alert. 

 

Crime sucks and it's scary as all hell to get held up at gunpoint (I know this personally having had it happen to me 13 years ago) but racial profiling against young black men is a serious problem. 

 

Just out of curiosity, is this gentleman African-American or Hispanic?

 

 

 

I might also point out that "racial profiling" is a problem for those of hispanic origin as well. Though many people are unaware of this problem, false identification in criminal cases is a huge problem. Most case where DNA has exonerated innocent men have been cases where eyewitnesses were wrong in their identification. The eyewitnesses were not intentionally trying to misidentify African-Americans. They were simply mistaken. It is a sadly common mistake.

[diggity]

Sorry, but if you can't tell the difference between African-American males and short Hispanic males, then maybe you shouldn't give a racial description. Or, at the very least, consult with your husband and get your story straightened out before you send out an alert. 

 

Crime sucks and it's scary as all hell to get held up at gunpoint (I know this personally having had it happen to me 13 years ago) but racial profiling against young black men is a serious problem. 

 

don't you just love know-it-all thread jackers?

 

Sorry to hear you guys got robbed....glad it wasn't any worse

[fwki]

NicSchtick

[KinkaidAlum]

The only way you wouldn't know Big Papi is of Hispanic origin would be if he mimed the hold up.

 

 

[DiTex]

Geez, going to have the think twice about donations to Kinkaid. 

[kylejack]

Sorry, but if you can't tell the difference between African-American males and short Hispanic males, then maybe you shouldn't give a racial description. Or, at the very least, consult with your husband and get your story straightened out before you send out an alert.

 

You think witnesses should consult each other to give their eyewitness account? Terrible idea. Eyewitness testimony often has flaws. That doesn't mean it's worthless. Also, Hispanic is not a racial description.

[s3mh]

Sorry, but if you can't tell the difference between African-American males and short Hispanic males, then maybe you shouldn't give a racial description. Or, at the very least, consult with your husband and get your story straightened out before you send out an alert.

Crime sucks and it's scary as all hell to get held up at gunpoint (I know this personally having had it happen to me 13 years ago) but racial profiling against young black men is a serious problem.

I am as liberal as can be, but this just isn't racial profiling. First, racial profiling is the act of law enforcement taking action on the basis of racial bias. Second, even if you are just claiming that this woman has a racial bias in attempting to describe the criminals, she openly admits that she may have been wrong about the description. Third, a basic skin color description plus a description of the vehicle can be an important tool for law enforcement and neighbors who see a similar vehicle acting suspiciously in the area. Whether the suspects are south Asian or Mexican or African American isn't something that reasonable people expect someone with a gun pointed at the face to be able to sort out. But light skinned versus dark skinned is easy to discern under the stress of the moment and is important information to share.

[RedScare]

I hate to admit it, but I agree with s3mh on this point. Citizens do not racially profile. The government does. Further, as my picture of Big Papi illustrates, the woman could see a dark skinned individual and believe him to be African-American, while the man could hear him speak and believe him to be of hispanic origin. Of course, this description points up the problems with eyewitness identifications. They can be incorrect.

[KinkaidAlum]

So only law enforcement can racially profile someone?

 

I bet Trayvon Martin's parents would beg to differ. 

 

And no, I don't think witnesses should consult each other before making statements to the police. However, I do think there'd be time to get their stories straight before sending the alert out to the neighborhood board. 

 

Too many vigilantes who shoot first and ask questions later to make such mistakes...especially when the very first post in this thread ended with this gem; "and to those who can; lock and load."

 

 

[kylejack]

The woman said that her husband interacted with the robbers for longer. Perhaps she was describing what she saw and he was describing their accent. It's not necessarily at odds.

[august948]

So only law enforcement can racially profile someone?

 

I bet Trayvon Martin's parents would beg to differ. 

 

And no, I don't think witnesses should consult each other before making statements to the police. However, I do think there'd be time to get their stories straight before sending the alert out to the neighborhood board. 

 

Too many vigilantes who shoot first and ask questions later to make such mistakes...especially when the very first post in this thread ended with this gem; "and to those who can; lock and load."

 

Is vigilantism an issue in The Heights?  Is there an armed citizen patrol walking the streets?  On the other hand, if someone pulls a gun on you or is breaking into your house then that's a situation where shooting first and asking questions later is prudent.

[fwki]

So only law enforcement can racially profile someone?

 

I bet Trayvon Martin's parents would beg to differ. 

 

And no, I don't think witnesses should consult each other before making statements to the police. However, I do think there'd be time to get their stories straight before sending the alert out to the neighborhood board. 

 

Too many vigilantes who shoot first and ask questions later to make such mistakes...especially when the very first post in this thread ended with this gem; "and to those who can; lock and load."

 

Not only stop the donations but investigate that school for cheating standardized tests if this is a representative sampling.  Thankfully the initial post was made right after the incident to alert the rest of us.  I was out with my vehicle and got the alert on my phone, but often we are on foot coming from the local spots.  You'd have her wait so I could get nailed too, just so she doesn't offend your phony sensitivities.  And wtf does Trayvon Martin have to do with racial profiling?  Racism perhaps, but as any HISD grad would know, racial profiling is a systematic law enforcement tool.  And then to quote a neighbor who started a separate thread the next day?  You got hosed on the tuition.

[RedScare]

I'd be willing to bet that when I agreed with s3mh that racial profiling is a tool of law enforcement, Kinkaid rushed to Google in order to shut us up. Once there, he found that a better tack might be to simply make up a definition of his own and imply that it is correct.

[TGM]

In the future during a mugging one should inquire with one's mugger as to what racial demographic they belong to as to avoid the crime of offending Kinkaid.

Example:

"Dear sir, might I request a favor from you after I hand over my wallet?"

"Well that all depends on the favor. If I deem it reasonable I might acquiesce to your wishes."

"Oh my good man, you are a gentlemen and a scholar!"

"Yes, yes, yes, spit it out, I've got to catch the 10pm showing of The Great Gatsby"

"Might I inquire what your ethnic background, or national origin is, as I do not wish to offend when I file my report."

"But of course, but I warn you my answer might cause the PC Patrol heads to explode"

"How is that?"

"I am African-American"

"I don't often argue with a man holding a gun, but you are clearly white my good man"

"Yes, but I am from Zimbabwe, which under your current system is factually correct"

"Sir, just how on earth am I supposed to file a report now?"

"Beats me, tell them you don't see color"

Edited May 7, 2013 by TGM

[august948]

In the future during a mugging one should inquire with one's mugger as to what racial demographic they belong to as to avoid the crime of offending Kinkaid.

Example:

"Dear sir, might I request a favor from you after I hand over my wallet?"

"Well that all depends on the favor. If I deem it reasonable I might acquiesce to your wishes."

"Oh my good man, you are a gentlemen and a scholar!"

"Yes, yes, yes, spit it out, I've got to catch the 10pm showing of The Great Gatsby"

"Might I inquire what your ethnic background, or national origin is, as I do not wish to offend when I file my report."

"But of course, but I warn you my answer might cause the PC Patrol heads to explode"

"How is that?"

"I am African-American"

"I don't often argue with a man holding a gun, but you are clearly white my good man"

"Yes, but I am from Zimbabwe, which under your current system is factually correct"

"Sir, just how on earth am I supposed to file a report now?"

"Beats me, tell them you don't see color"

Perhaps it would be quicker just to whip out your iPhone and ask for a photo.

[TGM]

Perhaps it would be quicker just to whip out your iPhone and ask for a photo.

Good idea, because apparantly iPhones are no longer worthy of theft in Houston.

Heaven help the person who attempts this with a Galaxy S4.

[RedScare]

If you use the S4, you could create a wicked cool compilation of pics of the perp running away.

 

 

[s3mh]

I am hearing that a similar incident occurred on Harvard and White Oak at 10 pm last night.  Two guys in hoodies came up behind a guy and held him up for his wallet.  Suspects may have been driving a Mercedes with after market hallogen lights (the look blueish).  HPD/Constables are on the look out.