SOMEONE FOLLOWED THEM.

Licia and Christopher Dawe had been out doing some Christmas shopping. They had just purchased an Apple MacBook at the mall for their daughter to use at college. On their way to the grocery store before heading home, the couple noticed that two men in a car behind them seemed to be making every turn they took.

The Victim: Licia and Christopher Dawe

The Crime:Burglary of a motor vehicle

Date: Saturday, Dec. 21

Time: Between 1:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.

Location: 11700 block of Preston

The Dawes ran into the grocery store to get an item for Christmas dinner. When they came out, they were anything but merry. Someone had shattered a window to gain access to the trunk. The new laptop was gone. The men had indeed followed them from the mall and taken advantage of them.

“Thank God we didn’t drive home,” Licia Dawe says. “The police say they were just after the laptop.”

The burglary was quite a frustration, and they literally only possessed the laptop for minutes. Dawe called mall officials to let them know about the crime. She says there is now a police presence in the parking areas.

Lt. Richard Dwyer of the North Central Patrol Division says it is always important to be aware of your surroundings and to avoid keeping anything of value in your car, especially during the holidays. If you think someone is following you, calling the police might be helpful if you think the situation may turn dangerous or criminal.

| CRIME NUMBERS |

5:30 p.m.

Time a woman discovered a blank check, signed, on the 6100 block of Bandera on Dec. 30.

$722

Cost of damage to rear bumper caused during a hit-and-run on the 7900 block of Forest on Dec. 31 at 8:25 a.m.

SOURCE: Dallas Police Department

12 a.m.

Time on Dec. 31 when a woman awoke to the sound of her window shattering; an unknown suspect had thrown an orange traffic cone into her bedroom window at her residence on the 10800 block of Stone Canyon.

$4,000

Estimated cost of rims and tires stolen from a vehicle in the driveway in the 4300 Block of Echo Glen between 9 p.m. on Dec. 30 and 9 a.m. on Dec. 31.