Cameras Capture Women Robbed At Gunpoint Outside Broward Restaurant
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PLANTATION (CBSMiami)---There is a break in the case of two Broward women who were terrified and robbed at gunpoint in late February outside a Chili's restaurant on South University Drive in Plantation.
Plantation Police are releasing surveillance tape that shows three suspects at an Orion Fuels service station at 1101 N.W. 8th Ave. in Hallandale Beach an hour after the robbery using one of the victim's stolen credit cards. The surveillance tape also shows the men getting out of a red car that police say may have been used in robbery of the woman as well.
That robbery happened around 11:30 p.m. on Friday, February 27th after the women had left the Chili's restaurant at 813 South University Drive. A police report said the two victims were in the back of the restaurant on the southwest side when a lone gunman who was about 5'11" tall and wearing a black hoodie approached them.
CBS4's Peter D'Oench spoke with both victims and while they did not want to show all of their faces, they agreed to share their stories. They told D'Oench they were both terrified and thought they might lose their lives.
One victim who is a mother lost a red purse valued at $50, a brown Michael Kors wallet valued at $60 which contained her ID and a debit card and $75 in cash.
She shed some tears as told D'Oench, "That's something I'm dealing with every day. It's just hard. It's hard when you're a victim of something like that."
"All I could think of was oh my God, somebody is going to shoot me," she said. "I am going to be dead. At that point I was just praying. And I was saying goodbye to my kids, my husband, my family."
She shudders when she thinks of how she was victimized.
CLICK HERE to watch Peter D'Oench's report
"He actually put a gun to my side and said give it to me. Give me everything. I felt helpless," she said. I felt like I should have been able to do something. I should have been able to protect me and my friend. I felt super violated. It is very hard for me to go to sleep at night and leave my house."
"I don't want anybody else to go through this," she said. "It's a shame you can't do things that make you happy without looking over your shoulder without wondering about why this is happening to you. It's hard. It's scary. I am wondering what I could have done and why this happened."
"When it was over, he just ran down the street and got in to a car that was waiting for him," she said. "People need to say something to that they will be caught. I think if you can prevent this from happening to somebody else and get some people like this off the street, that is important. We need to stand together as a community and do these things together as human beings."
A second victim lost a Michael Kors purse valued at $200 and a brown Michael Kors wallet containing miscellaneous ID, debit and credit cards as well as $100 in cash.
She got in a tug of war with him until she realized the suspect had a weapon.
"He went to grab the strap on my purse and he ended up grabbing my shirt as well," she said. "I was trying to pull away. There was a tug of war going on for a few minutes. I just felt scared. I felt violated. I thought I didn't know what they were going to do. I didn't know. It was just scary."
"I was just telling myself he was going to shoot me," she said. "I was talking to myself. I was telling myself I was going to be ok."
She also hopes the suspects are caught.
"It would mean everything. They don't deserve to do this to anybody or us and I hope they pay the price for this."
While both women were traumatized, they were not hurt.
Anyone who recognizes the men seen in the surveillance tape should contact Plantation Police at (954) 797-2118 or Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS (8477).