GLUG, GLUG. THE BEER WAS GONE.

Over the holidays, Patti Monzingo had been out celebrating at a Christmas party. Those in attendance brought an interesting gift and each person had a chance to steal. At the end of the exchange, she ended up with a 12-pack of non-alcoholic beer. She placed it on the top shelf of the refrigerator in the detached garage of her Lake Highlands North home.

The beer would soon be gone before a single bottle was opened.

“Its absence was very noticeable,” she says of realizing it was missing on the morning of Dec. 15.

Also stolen was a weed eater and expensive bottle of tequila. Monzingo believes the thief must have thought the

The Victim: Patti Monzingo

The Crime: Burglary

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 14 sons in Lake Highlands. Monzingo says she is a very trusting person —something that proved unfortunate in this situation.

“I never left my garage door locked,” she says. “There was nothing out of place in the garage. They did, however, rearrange things in my refrigerator like they were looking through it. It’s mostly just rotten to think someone came into my ‘inner sanctum’ and felt free to take from me.”

When she first moved in three years ago, Monzingo had a water hose and hose reel stolen. She had also been robbed while in college. And while the monetary value may have been small in this case, Monzingo says she has learned her lesson and is locking her garage door and has both backyard gates locked. She has two children and needs to make sure they’re safe, she says.

Time: Between 7 a.m. (Dec. 14) and 5 a.m. (Dec. 15)

Location: 10400 block of Robindale beer from the gift exchange was real because he left other non-alcoholic beer behind. From what was stolen, she thinks it may have been the work of teenagers.

Monzingo works as a swim coach at The Greenhill School and for Dallas Aquatic Masters. She also offers swimming les-

Dallas Police Sgt. Keitric Jones of the Northeast Patrol Division says leaving a garage door unlocked not only can lead to becoming a burglary victim, but also may lead to future burglaries.

As for grabbing the “near beer” and tequila, Jones notes: “Criminals often grab whatever is available. If there is potential for pleasure or profit, criminals will take the advantage of the opportunity.”

Crime Numbers

Date when someone stole cash, candy and cigarettes from the 7-Eleven in the 8400 block of Park Lane in an aggravated robbery.

Worth of remote-controlled cars stolen during a burglary at Hobby Town USA in the 8000 block of Walnut Hill

SOURCE: Dallas Police Department crime statistics for

Estimated number of men who assaulted 17-year-old William Eroe Jan. 7 in the Sports Authority shopping center at Walnut Hill and Central Expressway, reviving rumors of gang activity around NorthPark Center, which police later debunked

Apartment crime

Former owners of The Madeline apartments in Lake Highlands cite crime and a poor economy as reasons for selling the complex. A summer shootout caused frightened tenants to vacate and the heat gave way to air conditioning problems and worse. “It kills me because we put so much time and energy into this,” former landlord Joe Killinger says. “We still want to be involved in this community.” Read the whole story on lakehighlands.advocatemag.com

Search: Knightvest

Tragedy on the street

10%

Creative Water Gardens

Lake Highlands High School has lost a student to a speeding driver. Police reports indicate that the woman who hit 17-yearold junior Riley Rawlins was traveling at nearly 70 miles per hour to beat a yellow light when she hit Rawlins. She had no driver’s license or insurance. Rawlins is remembered as a sweet young man with many friends and a great love of the outdoors. Read the whole story on lakehighlands. advocatemag.com.

Search: Riley Rawlins

No gangs at NorthPark

Once again, rumors have surfaced about gang activity at NorthPark Center. Police have debunked claims that a teenager was attacked at the mall; There was an attack, but it occurred at the Sports Authority on the opposite side of Central Expressway. Read the whole story on lakehighlands. advocatemag.com.

Search: debunk NorthPark