Posted on 04/11/2013 8:03:52 PM PDT by BenLurkin
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A young actress was allegedly assaulted and mugged for her cellphone last week in Los Angeles’ Fairfax District.
JT Vancollie said she was walking home from babysitting Friday night when a teenage girl approached her at Sierra Bonita Avenue and 8th Street.
“She said, ‘Hey, I’m trying to get my friend to help me get home. Could I use your cellphone?’” said Vancollie.
The victim said the suspect started dialing repeatedly.
“She starts to run away. I run after her like, ‘Are you kidding… I was trying to help you…like, what are you doing?’” Vancollie told CBS2’s Serene Branson.
The actress said another girl and three teen boys were waiting nearby.
“She says to her other friends who were right there…she said… ‘Get her!’ One of the guys punches me in the face, I fall to the ground, and he steals my purse,” said Vancollie.
She continued, “They punched me so hard my nose started bleeding.”
Vancollie, who has been featured in an anti-bullying campaign, decided to put up flyers in the neighborhood for her missing belongings.
She found her purse, which had been emptied except for an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.
Vancollie said she took the magazine to police for fingerprints.
Detectives said “cellphone snatching” is on the rise.
“Now with the new iPhones being so valuable and easy to sell on the black market, we’re seeing an increase in cellphone thefts,” said Sgt. James Tomeo of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Vancollie said people may need to rethink helping a stranger.
“If you’re alone, don’t stop for anyone. As innocent as they look, they might not be,” she said.
A purse with a dirty diaper in it would be a great solution for muggers.
ha... and ewwww!
Canters Restaurant is in the Fairfax district.
The best Diner deli bakery in the world.
Just guessing here but maybe we aren’t looking at this correctly. SUVs=bad, they kill people. Guns=bad, they kill people. Cell phones=bad, they cause muggings. Time to ban cell phones. If it prevents just one mugging, it would be worth it.
Yes, there are always pockets of suspicious characters in any city. Situational awareness is always crucial in a city.
Truly, the definition of a conservative is "A Liberal Who Has Been Mugged".
” I run after her like, ‘Are you kidding.”
Whatever happened to our language?
Uh- not entirely.
These punks- mostly black or latino kids from the neighborhood have attacked others in the area before. From beating up the Jewish kids from a local Jewish religious school, to muggings like this, it is not uncommon. I know of others who have had been attacked.
I used to live in the area and police choppers circling at night are a regular occurrence there. We occasionally got police descending on various blocks to catch offenders by cordoning off whole blocks.
Been there. Had pastrami sandwhich. Very good!
1/2 Hot pastrami, 1/2 corn beef for breakfast with their fabulous coffee and a great big Kosher pickle an I burp and fart ALL day.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Someone gettin their ‘free upgrade’ on their Obamaphone.
“She starts to run away. I run after her like, ‘Are you kidding… I was trying to help you…like, what are you doing? ...She says to her other friends who were right there…she said… ‘Get her!’ One of the guys punches me in the face, I fall to the ground, and he steals my purse... They punched me so hard my nose started bleeding.”
http://www.jtvancollie.com/JT_Vancollie/Welcome.html
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw5Ouj7npMUpS_AFb_edKDQ
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.