Crime & Safety
Woman Claims Strangers She Gave a Lift to West Des Moines Robbed Her
She told police they weren't doing enough to help her recover her money; they said without more details, likelihood of arrest is slim.
Police told a 19-year-old Des Moines woman not to count on getting her money back after she said she was allegedly robbed early Monday morning by a pair of men she was giving a ride from the Homes of Oakridge development in Des Moines to Deer Ridge Apartments in West Des Moines, but whose names she did not know.
She wasn’t able to tell Officer Kraig Kincaid much at all about the two suspects other than that they were African Americans. She knew one by a nickname and didn’t know the other at all, according to Kincaid’s report. Two other occupants in the car were “less than cooperative,” Kincaid wrote, and claimed not to have seen anything or to know the identity of the two men.
The alleged victim said she was robbed when she pulled her vehicle to the side of the road in the 1900 block of Elm Street to cool off because it had overheated. One of the men wanted to use her cell phone, and when she refused, one of them grabbed her purse from the car seat and ran toward Railroad Avenue.
The victim said she had $100 cash in the purse, as well as a bank debit card, an MP3 player, her driver’s license and other miscellaneous items. She reportedly said she wanted charges filed against the two unidentified suspects – unless she got her property back, including the money, and then she would be willing to let it go.
Kincaid reportedly told her that without more information, the likelihood of her getting her money back would be slim.
“She then stated that we needed to look for them and it should not be that hard to find two black guys in West Des Moines,” Kincaid reported. “She was advised that if she could not even give descriptions of the two black males or names, it would be difficult finding them and that we had two other cars checking the area.”
If you read this story, you might also like:
- Alleged West Des Moines Flasher Used Flashlight to Illuminate the Goods
- Guess What Woman Who Flagged Down West Des Moines Police Allegedly Had Hidden in Her Bra?
Find out what's happening in West Des Moinesfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.