THE PICKPOCKET STRUCK .

Virginia Clarke had an appointment that afternoon, but she decided to drop by her neighborhood grocery store first to pick up a few items. As she shopped, a man who she thought worked at the store offered to help her, but 1 p.m. was approaching, and she decided to go ahead and check out.

While at the self-check, Clarke again noticed the man, who then offered to carry out her bag and put it in the front seat. A block away, she pulled into a gas station and filled up her tank. As she attempted to pay, Clarke realized her wallet was gone. The station wouldn’t let her leave without paying the $31 she owed, so she called the police. Her daughter later met her at the police station to help her.

Clarke found out the mysterious man

The Victim: Virginia Clarke

The Crime: Theft

Date: Wednesday, Aug. 13

Time: Between 12:15 p.m. and 1 p.m.

Location: 11900 block of Preston had taken her wallet and used her credit card five times that day before it was canceled. The bank later removed the charges, but the crime has really struck her emotionally.

“The worst part is, I’ve had a hard time dealing with it. It’s unsettling. It’s been just

Education

such a bad couple of weeks,” she says. Clarke does a lot of work with charities, and she adds, “The sad thing is, if he had said, ‘I need some money for food,’ I’d have given it to him.”

Detectives investigating the crime said she was in the perfect spot to capture the man on video for identification and saw him lifting her wallet from her purse. The store manager also recognized her on her next trip, Clarke says, and was very nice in apologizing to her. Clarke warns women to always secure their purses and pay attention to their surroundings.

Major Edwin Ruiz-Diaz of the North Central Patrol Division agrees. He says this is an unusual way for a thief to steal someone’s property, but not unheard of. Residents should always be alert to their surroundings and report any unusual activity to store management if possible and to police as soon as practical, Ruiz-Diaz says.

“In this particular case it is understandable that the victim accepted the offer of help from what turned out to be the suspect,” he says. “If the man was blending in with other employees inside the store and was dressed like an employee, then it is harder for an unsuspecting victim to be on alert.”

If you feel uncomfortable in a similar situation, ask to speak with security or a manager, he says. The manager should be able to vouch for any employees or contact police if the situation calls for it.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and author of “Raising the Stakes”, obtainable at raisingthestakesbook.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.

4100 $5,000 4 a.m.

Block of Lively Lane where a man broke into a home and, upon being caught, shot at the homeowner

Value of the items the man stole before being arrested the following day

Time of day the crime occurred

SOURCE: Dallas Police Department

Dallas ISD met all four of the state’s accountability standards, according to results released by the Texas Education Agency. A handful of neighborhood schools earned additional distinctions from the agency. E.D. Walker Middle School was named the highest-ranking inclusive school in DISD to earn TEA distinctions in seven performance categories, including reading, English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. W. T. White High School and Nathan Adams Elementary also performed exceptionally, receiving distinctions in five categories.

People

Bradley Laye became president and CEO of the Preston Hollow-based Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas He had served as interim president since July 2013 and was the Federation’s chief operating officer in October 2010.

Preston Hollow native Sam Horowitz whose viral Bar Mitzvah video landed him interviews on “Good Morning America” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” last year — is back with a new fashion-themed web series, “Sam Says,” airing on YouTube at 4 p.m. Sundays. The show features fashion tips and trends, plus interviews at neighborhood stores such as Celebrity Café & Bakery, Clothes Circuit and Tootsies.

Missy Payne, Preston Hollow resident and founder of Cheer 4 Your Life, is competing alongside her daughter, Baylor Wilson, in the current season of “Survivor” on CBS. Along with coaching and training more than 200 athletes at her cheerleading gym, Payne created the Park Cities Pee Wee cheerleading program and formerly coached at several neighborhood schools, including The Episcopal School of Dallas, The Covenant School and Hillcrest High School.

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