AUSTIN, Texas – A 16-year-old is working to save money to buy a truck for this school year after criminals stole the money he planned to use to buy one. He believes he was a victim of jugging earlier this month.
“You don’t ever think it’s going to happen to you,” Austin resident Timothy Jones said.
Jones’ son, 16-year-old Bradley Jones, worked and saved up enough money to buy himself a truck. Not long after, someone crashed into it and totaled the truck. About a week and a half ago, the family went to a bank in North Austin to pick up the money they received from their insurance. They withdrew $8,000.
“I got the money from the teller, I put it in my front pocket,” Timothy Jones said.
They walked together out of the bank, got into their car, and decided to stop for coffee down the street.
“I put the money in the glove box, locked the truck, and went inside to get a cup of coffee,” Timothy Jones said.
About five minutes later, Jones said he came back to his truck and an unbelievable sight.
“They had smashed out my window, they opened the glove box, opened the console, and took the money. They weren’t interested in the $12,000 worth of Milwaukee tools I have in my backseat, they knew what they were looking for,” Timothy Jones said.
Jones said he believes the criminals followed them from the bank.
“Do you wish you had never stopped to grab coffee?” FOX 7 Austin Crime Watch reporter Meredith Aldis asked Timothy Jones.
“No, because I think that if we hadn’t stopped, they probably would have followed us and eventually gotten impatient, and I’m just really glad that we’re alive,” Timothy Jones responded.
“We all work for our money and for somebody just to take it, you know what I mean, it just feels so wrong,” Bradley Jones said.
Bradley said this means he won’t have a truck to drive to school this year.
“I have a bunch of emotions: angry, sad, mad, but it just happened. I mean, there’s no real emotion to put towards it, it’s just crazy,” Bradley Jones said.
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Bradley said he’s determined to buy another truck.
“I guess it will give me a little motivation to work, on the bright side, you know, trying to make my money back,” Bradley Jones said.
An Austin police detective told Jones they receive around 50,000 cases a year in the criminal investigation division and try to work the cases that have leads and the others have to be suspended. Because this case doesn’t have video evidence from the bank or the coffee shop, it has been suspended.
“The branch manager told me they don’t have any cameras outside because they don’t own the building, and I’ve made repeated attempts to get in touch with the Wells Fargo security officer, to find out what they’re doing to try to protect customers from this type of thing of happening, and I haven’t gotten anywhere,” Timothy Jones said. “I just don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
Austin police said be aware of your surroundings, don’t leave money in your car, change your route after leaving the bank, and call 911 if you believe you’re being followed.
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