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Police seek information on burglaries targeting seniors
Photo courtesy of Plano PD -- Two suspects are sought by the Plano Police Department in connection with two burglaries that have occurred at local senior communities. Police say the suspects enter the victim's unlocked apartments when they are not home, take their credit cards and use them to purchase gift cards from area retailers.
By Conner Hammett, chammett@starlocalnews.com
Plano police are seeking two suspects in connection with two burglaries that have occurred during the past month at local senior living communities.
Police say in both instances the suspects entered the victims' apartments and took their credit cards while the victims had briefly left their unlocked apartments.
The first incident occurred on July 26 in the 400 block of Independence Parkway. A 77-year-old woman said she briefly left her apartment after receiving a phone call saying a large package was waiting for her in the living community's mail room. She later discovered her cards were missing.
Both victims discovered their credit cards were missing after being notified by their credit card companies of suspicious purchases, said Officer David Tilley, Plano PD spokesman.
"I'm still trying to find out if they're actually being lured," Tilley said. "... I know that the 94-year-old gentleman, he was not lured out of his apartment. He went downstairs from his apartment of his own accord."
In both incidents, the suspects immediately took the credit cards to local retailers and used them to purchase large quantities of gift cards. As a result, the department is asking local retailers to request identification or otherwise authenticate ownership of credit cards if they are used to purchase a substantial number of gift cards.
Similar reports in Flower Mound, Irving, Mesquite and Dallas are believed to be connected to the Plano incidents due to the similarity of the crimes and suspect descriptions, Tilley said.
"There's the potential that they're going to continue to strike, and we need to make sure everybody's aware at these senior living centers and apartment complexes," he said.
One suspect is described as a black male approximately 30 to 40 years old with a medium build, a bald or shaved head and facial hair, and possible tattoos on his outer forearms.
The second suspect is described as a black female between 30 and 40 years old with a medium build. She has been seen wearing scrubs and a white lab coat, black and white sneakers, and sunglasses.
The female suspect may be dressed to avoid suspicion when entering the senior communities, Tilley said. Both have been seen driving a silver sedan with dark-tinted windows.
Tilley said while credit card thefts are not uncommon, the cards are usually stolen from motor vehicles.
The apparent targeting of the elderly is another unusual component of the case, he said.
"We have to watch out," he said. "We're living in a different era, a different age than we did 40 years ago," he said. "When I was living in Plano, you didn't lock your doors when you left your house. But now you do."
The department requests that anyone with information on the burglaries or the whereabouts of the suspects call the Plano PD Tip Line 972-941-2148 or the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-877-373-8477.
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