ANATOMY OF AN ARMED ROBBERY IN HOUSTON

I stopped by the 24-hour grocery store on my way home from work late that
night. After paying for the groceries, I glanced in my wallet and saw I had
three $20 bills, a $10 bill and three $1 bills.

Arriving at my apartment only a few minutes later, I punched in the code to
open the security gate and drove down the asphalt lane, cars parked on both
sides, to my assigned parking space.

I walked around to the passenger side and grabbed the plastic grocery bags.
So, I was standing in a narrow space between two parked cars with both
hands full when I first sensed something was wrong. I glanced over my shoulder.

Someone was rushing toward to me very quickly. It was only a flash, but he
appeared to be a young, black male, wearing dark clothes and a do-rag
covering his head and part of his face. He was holding his right arm up
high, pointing a gun at my face. I didn't have to wonder, "What the heck is
this guy doing." I knew instantly what was happening.

Believe it or not, some people have actually spent time thinking about what
they should do in a situation like this. I had decided long ago I would be
extremely cool, so he would remain calm, let him know the money was not
important to me, and try to quickly strike some responsive form of human
contact. Of course, what you plan and reality often differ.

He said, "Get down," and put one hand on me to push me. I had dropped the
groceries and suddenly was on my hands and knees staring at the pavement. I
felt the gun in the back of my head.

He said, "Give me the wallet," and I said, "You got it! You got it!" I
wanted him to know I didn't plan to do anything stupid.

As I was desperately trying to wiggle the wallet out of my back pocket, I
said, "No problem. You need it more than I do." I don't know if that had
the intended effect, but I am alive to talk about it, and I figure if you
come out alive, you did good.

He touched the gun to the back of my neck and said, "Get it out." I said,
"I'm getting it," which I finally did and handed it to him. I still had not
seen his face, and didn't plan to look.

"Empty your pockets," he ordered. "I don't have much change," I said,
incredulous that he actually wanted my pocket change. "You've got money.
Get it out," he said. "Can I sit up?" I asked. It was impossible to reach
into my front pocket while I was on my hands and knees. He didn't answer. I
just wanted him to know I wasn't making any sudden moves. I eased up, got
my change out, which amounted to something like 75 cents, and handed it
over, still not looking in his direction.

This was the point I knew was the most dangerous. Would he shoot? He backed
off, turned and ran down the road. The relief was immense, but in truth I
was never as scared as I would have thought.

As I look back, I believe it was because he seemed calm, he didn't appear
to be doped up and he didn't start screaming at me for being slow. So I
thought I might be OK. I also remember thinking later how much more
terrifying it would be for a female, scared not only about being robbed but
also of being dragged away, beaten, raped and murdered. Nonetheless, as he
ran away I got up and yelled, "Now that you've got the money, why don't you
throw the wallet on the ground?" Sure. Like he actually would stop and do that.

But I knew the first thing he wanted to do was get away from the scene,
search the wallet to make sure there wasn't any hidden pockets with cash,
then toss it. If he was stopped five minutes later with some cash on him,
so what. But if he was caught five minutes later with my wallet and
driver's license on him, he would have some explaining to do.

I ran into my apartment and dialed 911. Then I went back out, got my big
flashlight from the car, and walked to the security gate where the police
would arrive, looking under the cars for my wallet, proof that hope indeed
springs eternal.

There's an old saying that nothing focuses one's thoughts quite so much as
being shot at and missed. I would add that nothing seems to call for
analysis more than being robbed at gunpoint. In that regard, I have some
analysis -- but not many answers.

How bad is the crime problem?

So bad it is commonplace. I suspect that anyone you talk to has either been
a victim of a crime or is very close to someone who has been a victim.

As for myself, in the past 40 years, I have had my car broken into three
times in three different cities: Dallas, New Orleans and San Antonio. In
Austin, my car was stolen. Now I have been robbed in Houston. If one
person, at random, has been a crime victim five times, I suggest crime is
out of control.

What could I have done to avoid being robbed?

Not much, besides not being there in the dark at 2 a.m. Daylight robberies
are not unheard of, but they are a lot more rare.

I could have been more alert. I should have looked to see who, if anyone,
was standing, or hiding, behind cars or in dark corners. But if you pull up
in your own driveway every night for years and nothing happens, you relax
your guard. Now, every night, I drive slow, with my lights on bright, and I
shine a flashlight out the window between parked cars and into entryways.

Would having a gun have helped?

Not in this case. It is all about surprise. The robber will always have the
advantage. A gun would be useful only if I had it in my hand, cocked and
ready, much like an armored car driver is required to do when entering or
exiting a building. And it may come to that. But a gun is of value only if
you have the element of surprise on your side, such as if you are at home,
have a gun by your bedside and you hear someone breaking in.

What about decriminalizing drug use?

The robber didn't take my car, and I had my keys in my hands. Nor did he
take my watch or a gold ring I was wearing. Everyone I told this story to
assumed the guy only wanted cash, to pay for drugs. I don't know. But I
have heard estimates that a huge percentage of all burglaries and robberies
are committed to get money for drugs.

If the U.S. government treated drugs as a medical and not a criminal
problem, and provided free drugs to addicts to take the profit out of drug
sales, the number of burglaries and robberies would fall by a staggering
amount.

Should apartments be required to provide better security? Would tenants be
willing to pay for it?

Gates with codes are not security. Anyone can climb over a fence or gate,
or follow a vehicle into the complex. Code numbers are known not only by
tenants, former tenants and all their friends, but also are posted for
employees to see at every pizza parlor that delivers in that area.

Security guards making rounds are expensive on a 24-hour basis, but a good
compromise might be to have someone patrolling at night, making rounds at
random, looking for anyone who doesn't belong.

The Texas legislature required apartments to install deadbolts that could
not be opened with a key from the outside after several women were raped by
men who had gotten copies of masterkeys at apartments. Maybe it is time to
require apartments to provide armed patrols at night.

What can we do on a national level to reduce crime?

The cause of crime is found in demographics. Young males, from teen-agers
through the 20s, are much more likely to commit crimes than older people.
During the era when baby-boomers were in that age range, crime rates
soared. As the boomers get older, rates are coming down.

Economic demographics are the second major consideration. Educated, wealthy
people are more likely to commit non-violent, white-collar crimes against a
broad number of people. Uneducated, disadvantaged people are more likely to
commit violent crimes against individuals.

Finally, police are geared up to investigate and solve crimes after the
fact. They prevent crime only as a deterrent by their presence and, of
course, by sending some people to prison for a few years. But it would cost
billions upon billions of tax dollars to put enough officers out there to
be effective in crime prevention. That's why many businesses hire private
security guards to protect property, access to buildings and transportation
of cash.

In reality, individual crime prevention is pretty much up to us as
citizens. We all to need to be more observant, all the time, to report what
we see, to encourage volunteer neighborhood watch patrols.

Because of the demographics and limited resources, we need a national joint
public-private effort.

It should emphasize education, aimed at young people, particularly the
at-risk young, plus an economic program to bring the underclass out of
poverty and into job training and employment.

That would cut the odds of your being the next victim.

These ideas may seem far removed from the dirty, oil-stained asphalt I was
forced to face while down on all fours. But they are nonetheless issues I
would like to see discussed at great length.

Powers is a business copy editor at the Chronicle.
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