Dallas residents in the Vickery Place neighborhood within Lower Greenville claimed they live in fear as vandalism, harassment, and threats of violence are plaguing their community.
Some residents identified the perpetrators as two men who live in the neighborhood, as they have allegedly brazenly harassed or intimidated residents and have even been recorded committing acts of vandalism on home security cameras.
One resident, who did not wish to be identified, told NBC 5 that the two men have been living in the neighborhood since 2013.
“It’s only recently it’s become clear that their mental state is perhaps deteriorating or they’re on drugs, they’ve become more aggressive and more brazen in approaching people in the neighborhood,” said the unidentified resident.
After several recent incidents, Vickery Place residents are ready for a change.
“I know I was scared the first several nights to sleep there. Something needs to happen. I mean, we shouldn’t have to feel unsafe living in our homes,” said local resident Adean, who only provided her first name to NBC 5.
“Upon moving in, there was a gentleman who seemed a little disheveled, who basically yelled at me, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ and I kind of just ignored him,” stated Adean. “Shortly after that, one of the neighbors came over and told me to be careful, that he’s been causing a lot of issues in the neighborhoods for several years.”
The man allegedly later banged on her front door with what looked like a baseball bat and destroyed part of her porch in the middle of the night.
Adean discovered even more damage to her property the day after that incident.
“I came home from work that day, and [he] had cut all my wires to my landscape lights in my front yard, stole several lights, smashed my side gate,” Adean said about the damage.
After taking to social media, specifically the Next Door app, other residents began to share their own experiences and similar incidents.
Residents shared that they believed the alleged attacks were becoming more aggressive, involving vandalism, break-ins, and assaults.
“I know our neighbors are very vigilant at calling the cops of these incidents,” said Adean. “So this obviously, I think is on their radar; I think they know there’s some issue going on in our neighborhood. I just wish we could come up with a solution.”
Residents are concerned about what will happen if there is no preventative action.
According to the Homeowners Association for Vickery Place, residents hold an annual safety meeting. For this year’s meeting, they plan to focus on the recent incidents. The Dallas Police Department stated it intends to have a representative in attendance and that it is actively investigating the matter.
Still, it is unclear if any arrests have been made.
Residents of Vickery Place continue to remain cautious and vigilant.
Like other parts of Dallas, significant increases in various categories of crime are being noted. Niche rated Lower Greenville as an overall A+ neighborhood, but it received a C+ for crime and safety.
For violent crimes, which are calculated annually per 100,000 residents, Niche reported that Lower Greenville’s robbery rate is nearly four times higher than the national average. Its rates for burglary and theft were also above the national average.
As reported in The Dallas Express, Lower Greenville, like Deep Ellum before it, is a neighborhood where increasing lawlessness is allegedly taking hold.
For more on the crime in Dallas, see The Dallas Express’ running Crime Boss series.