People who work out at the park in the Heights say there is always glass in this parking lot. According to Houston police, parks are one of the most common places for car thieves to hit.
While Annsley Popov was breaking a sweat at boot camp, someone in the parking lot was breaking into her car. The crook got away with her purse.
She said, "I had it hidden in the middle and it was under towels and a bag and umbrellas."
He came back five minutes later and was caught on camera. People working in an office building across the street noticed the break-in, snapped pictures and called 911 with a license plate number.
"I ran up to the car and started knocking on the back windshield and they started driving off," Popov recalled. "I was so mad that I kept on running toward the car, beating on the back windshield for them to give me my purse."
Officers nearby arrested the suspect, Don Wade, 34.
"If they're successful at one location, they're liable to keep coming back," explained HPD Officer Tim Woods.
"They had a few other purses that I had to go through and say if they were mine or not mine," Popov said.
She got all her stuff back.
"Had all my credit cards, even my cash still in it," she said.
And her pals won't be sweating about anything outside boot camp. From now on their purses will go, where they go.
"It was with me the whole time," Popov said.
Wade charged with burglary of a motor vehicle. He is due in court next week.
Find Sonia on Facebook at ABC13SoniaAzad or on Twitter at @abc13soniaazad
Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices
