ASCENSION PARISH — An Ascension Parish couple is still shaken after watching surveillance video outside their home of the moment they say their vehicle was stolen. In that video, they say a man stood just outside their door, pointing a gun toward the home.
Shanna Thomas said she and her husband were asleep when multiple people came into their yard to steal her husband’s 2019 Dodge Charger close to 2 a.m. on Monday. Oblivious to the fact that anything was happening, it wasn’t until they heard the sound of the car’s engine starting that they woke up.
“Once the vehicle was started, my husband immediately jumped up, and he was like, ‘somebody’s stealing my car.’ So we immediately ran to the door, but they had already left, and so we went back to check our security cameras,” Thomas recalled.
What they saw on the video worries and upsets them. On their back porch, just feet away from the door, one of the masked individuals stands guard, pointing a gun directly toward the door, the video shows. He stands there as another person works on unlocking and starting the car, keeping the weapon trained on the house.
“We were really shaken by it. We’ve had trouble sleeping since then, and are just real paranoid, because, you know, we’ve always felt safe,” Thomas said.
Because her husband had been at work the day before, Thomas said he was exhausted, which is likely why he didn’t wake up earlier. She worries that if he’d gotten up in the night and confronted the robbers, things would have turned out very differently.
In addition, the couple keeps their grandchildren often. “He looked like he would have shot if he’d just heard somebody moving around in the house. So I’m like, if (my grandkids) were there, what would have happened?”
The couple contacted the Ascension Sheriff’s Office, who tells UWK they are actively investigating. Thomas says she has shared the surveillance video evidence with APSO.
She told UWK that three people were involved in the theft and seen on camera.
One of the individuals worked on starting the car, likely using a device to unlock and start the Charger. Thomas thinks this isn’t his first time.
“It did not take them very long, because they arrived about 2 a.m. and by 2:08 I think it was, they were in the car and gone,” she said. “So it was like the person that broke in the car, you can definitely tell that he had done it before. This was not the first time, because it was too quick.”
Aside from the person standing guard on the porch, another person stood on lookout, just across from their house.
“I was just taken back, because I could not believe that somebody has the nerve to just stand at your front door, where I pay property taxes, and this is my home, and dare me to come outside of my house and catch you stealing my car.”
READ MORE One arrested, two others wanted after woman’s car and wheelchair were stolen
READ MORE Law enforcement unravels car theft ring in investigation of over 19 vehicles stolen
The stolen Charger is orange with black stripes, and is something her husband values.
“The car is something that you know he worked for. He works very hard. He works two jobs, and he is always helping people,” she said. “We don’t bother anybody. We’re working class people. We work hard for what we have.”
“It’s sad that you can’t have the things that you want because other people are jealous and just don’t want to work for the things that they want and desire,” she added.
Thomas said they’re wanting the community to know about their situation so that people can be mindful and observant at their own homes. “Be on the lookout,” she cautioned.
“It’s very scary that these young children do not value life, and they don’t value people, their property, they don’t care. They want it; they just feel they’re gonna get it at any cost.”
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
