The Dallas Police Department is investigating an attempted jugging after three men allegedly followed a man home from the bank and ambushed him in his driveway last week.
A jugging typically occurs when criminals position themselves outside of a bank or ATM and follow people who have withdrawn money in order to intercept them in the parking lot or another location, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Mark Gardner arrived home from the bank at around 1 p.m. on September 19 but quickly found out he was not alone. Three men allegedly followed him home, according to WFAA.
The suspects parked their car in front of Gardner’s driveway and ran out to ambush him while brandishing firearms.
Surveillance footage taken at the scene shows the suspects surrounding Gardner’s vehicle, yelling, “Give it up! Give it up!” as they tried to open the car doors and break through the windows.
“This is where they took the butt of the gun and kept pounding it,” Gardner later recalled while showing his vehicle to WFAA.
He and his stepson stayed inside the car as the incident unfolded.
“I said call your mother right away and tell her to go hide in the house. I’m calling the police,” Gardner recalled telling his stepson, per WFAA.
While the vehicle sustained some damage, the window did not break. Gardner was able to slip out from the driveway and speed away. The three suspects fled the scene in their own vehicle.
“Maybe they think they’re invincible. But if they think they’re that tough wait till they get to prison,” he said, according to WFAA.
DPD has previously warned residents about an increase in jugging incidents this summer. There were reportedly already 143 logged cases by the start of September.
The department released some tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of such crimes:
Be aware of your surroundings inside and outside banks and pay special attention to vehicles backed into parking spaces with people inside.
Conceal bank bags or cash envelopes when exiting financial institutions, and avoid leaving them inside your vehicle.
- Be on alert for any signs that you are being followed upon leaving a bank, and contact the police if you are.
- Robberies are not uncommon in Dallas. There have been 1,739 reported cases as of September 24, according to the City of Dallas crime overview dashboard.
- Additionally, the number of auto thefts seen this year has jumped over 38% — 13,554 so far in 2023 compared to 9,793 logged this time last year.
Downtown Dallas sees many of the city’s auto thefts, logging significantly higher offense rates than Fort Worth’s downtown area. While both cities’ police departments have been struggling with officer shortages, Fort Worth has a specialized police unit monitoring its city center alongside private security guards.
Meanwhile, as recently reported by The Dallas Express, Dallas residents overwhelmingly said there were not enough officers on patrol in their city, according to an August poll.
A previous analysis by the City of Dallas indicated that an estimated 4,000 officers would be needed to adequately manage crime in the city. Still, there are currently just under 3,200 on staff.