This article is from The Sun Sentinel about what is taking place with a violent crew
Police in Broward County are searching for a violent crew that has ambushed women with beatings and pepper spray while stealing purses and electronics this week at shopping centers in Plantation, Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach.
In two cases, women were followed to their homes, where, police said, their cars were stolen. The suspects use a dark-colored Nissan sedan, often described by victims as an Altima.
âWeâre following up on leads,â Plantation Police Detective Philip Toman said about the assaults by two women and one or two men that began Sunday and usually happen at night.
* At a Publix at 1181 S. University Drive in Plantation, a 61-year-old woman was loading groceries into her carâs trunk at 6:20 p.m. Sunday when a car pulled up behind her and a man got out.
The woman was pepper-sprayed; her $130 purse, $800 iPad, $1,200 and $300 in gift cards, driverâs license and car keys were stolen, police reports said.
Her Nissan Rogue SUV was towed from the shopping center to her home, where it subsequently was stolen from the driveway. Two days later, Lauderhill police recovered the SUV, which had major damage to the front right fender and tire, a police report said.
* About an hour after the Sunday incident, a 37-year-old woman who had been at Publix, 8101 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Plantation was approached by a man and woman who got out of a car. Her eyes were stung with pepper spray; her purse, containing $50, her driverâs license and credit cards, was stolen, police said. That store is about four miles north of the first scene.
* At 9:48 p.m. Monday, a woman at a Publix at 3500 Davie Blvd., in Fort Lauderdale was ambushed by a man and woman, possibly in their 20s, who pepper sprayed her. The suspects left empty-handed in a dark car after a witness intervened, Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Keven Dupree said.
* Tuesday afternoon at Publix, 3102 Griffin Rd. in Dania Beach, a 58-year-old woman was taking her groceries to her car when a woman approached her and sprayed a pepper chemical in her face while trying to grab the shopperâs purse, the Broward Sheriffâs Office said.
The woman wouldnât let go of her handbag, according to a police report. A man got out of a car and punched the woman in the face. She fell while still clutching her purse, she told police. Two cellphones fell out of the handbag; the suspects grabbed them and drove away.
* At 3:31 p.m. Tuesday, two women were leaving a restaurant in a shopping center at 1823 N. Pine Island Road when a Black Nissan struck one in the thigh. A man got out of the Nissan and punched one woman in the head; two women got out of the car and attacked the other, according to Toman. A cellphone was taken; the women had minor injuries.
* At 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, a 73-year-old woman drove from a Publix at 6921 W. Broward Blvd. in Plantation to her gated community at Northwest 69th Avenue and West Broward Boulevard. A Black Nissan hit the rear of her car. When she got out to check for damage, a man and woman accosted and pepper sprayed her, police said. Her purse, containing about $1,500, and her Hyundai sedan were stolen; the car was recovered.
A call to Publix for comment was not returned Friday.
The Nissan being sought has dark tinted windows, Plantation police said. The agency asks anyone with information to call (954) 797-2100 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-8477. That organization will accept anonymous tips and pay up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest. The Broward Sheriffâs Office says tips may also be reported at (954) 764-4357.
