Friday, June 6, 2008

Dallas’ Oak Lawn neighborhood under seige of armed crimes

By Ben Briscoe of Dallas Voice

After a night of drinking, 38-year-old Brien Pierson was walking alone to his Hall Street home from the strip around 1 a.m. on Saturday, May 31. That’s when a transgender person wearing blue jeans and a blue blouse approached him.

Pierson said the person pointed a handgun at him and said, “Give me your shit.”

Although Pierson declined to comment further on the event, he said, “It was terrifying and traumatic.”

The police report says that fearing for his life, Pierson handed over a $15,000, 2.5-carat diamond ring, a $7,000 silver Cartier watch, his iPhone, a Visa card, $500 in cash and his keys.

The suspect then fled the crime scene in the 3300 block of Douglas Avenue, making a getaway through an open fence nearby.

This incident is one of nine aggravated assaults or robberies occurring in the area during the past two weeks, a number that’s prompting police to warn Cedar Springs patrons to stay safe.

“It’s possible that these might be related,” Northwest Division Dallas Police Officer Steve Fuentes said.

But even if they weren’t committed by the same person, Fuentes sees a common thread.

“You’ve got people leaving the nightclubs, often at least slightly inebriated, walking home by themselves in the dark around two or three in the morning. And then you have the guys in the street up to no good. That’s like a cat looking for a mouse. It’s just not smart,” he said.

To stay safe, Fuentes and other officers are advising that people in the area keep in groups, use valet parking whenever possible, withdraw money from a bank earlier that day instead of an ATM at night and avoid walking through alleyways and dark streets.

Among the other recent aggregated crimes is a sexual assault where someone was walking down a alleyway to get their car when a suspect approached, asking for the time. The suspect then knocked out the victim and sexually assaulted the victim.

In another incident, a suspect asked the victim for 50 cents. When the victim said he did not have any money, the suspect stabbed the 18-year-old male two times in his torso.

There were also two robberies with guns, two with knives and one where a 78-year-old man was struck over the head with a club. These crimes are in varies stages of investigations with one arrest occurring so far.

As far as Pierson’s case, investigators have a lead, and say they need the public’s help.

The suspect made calls on Pierson’s iPhone after taking it. When the people he made calls to were asked, they said the transgender thief may be named Billy.

Anyone with information about the incident or the suspect is asked to call Detective Edmundo Lujan at 214-670-6224.

Related stories

• Saliva again considered deadly weapon in Oak Lawn assault case (June 6, 2008)

See more stories in:

• Crime > Assault
• Crime > Burglary / Robbery / Theft

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