League City: Courageous women thwart attempted kidnapping

[seamusTX]

In League City Wednesday at 4:45 p.m. a woman from Galveston was in her car in the parking lot of Kroger on Egret Bay Boulevard with her 1-year-old son in a car seat. The woman from Galveston was waiting for her husband to get off work.

A 51-year-old white woman approached the vehicle and demanded that the mother give up the infant. This never goes well. The mother struggled with the kidnapper. Another woman also tried to intervene, but they could not subdue or repel the kidnapper.

A 53-year-old woman who was a former police officer, who had her own grandchildren in her vehicle, saw the altercation. She subdued the suspect and restrained her until police arrived.

Many people drove past and ignored the situation. One man called out from his vehicle, "Leave her alone."

The suspect was arrested and jailed on $20,000 bond. Police stated that the suspect had been arrested 16 times in the past six years, mostly on alcohol-related offenses.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/357434" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is good fodder for the "what would you do?" speculation. You see four women apparently having a melee in the grocery store parking lot ...

Also I'm sure most of the people in that area, if questioned, would say, "That kind of thing never happens around here."

- Jim

[WildBill]

This is good fodder for the "what would you do?" speculation. You see four women apparently having a melee in the grocery store parking lot ...

I wonder if the ex-LEO has her CHL. I wonder if any of the people observing/driving by did. I remember 5 years ago that League City had the highest number of CHLs per captia.

[Oldgringo]

Hmmm, sixteen arrests in 6 years, eh? What was she doing walking the streets?

[anygunanywhere]

I'll bet she voted for the infected pustule in the white house.

Anygunanywhere

[seamusTX]

I wonder if the ex-LEO has her CHL.

She may, or she may be qualified under LEOSA. But you can't wade into a three-person fight in the parking lot of a grocery store and start shooting.

A big part of the value of a weapon is deterrence or intimidation, but that most likely would not have worked in this incident, either.

Even though League City has a high rate of CHL holders, it's still only a few percent of the adult population.

That five corners area is like the heart of League City, isn't it? (I avoid getting close to 518 because of the lousy traffic.)

Hmmm, sixteen arrests in 6 years, eh? What was she doing walking the streets?

Public intoxication is a class C misdemeanor, like a traffic ticket. However I noticed that she was charged as a repeat offender. Kidnapping is a felony, of course.

If I were a betting man I would bet she's indigent, and one of the hard-working public defenders will get her to plead to something, receive probation, and go into rehab. She sounds like she's beyond human intervention, though.

- Jim

[seamusTX]

Oh, yeah, can someone with a Facebook account check this out?
https://www.facebook.com/tomasita.j.mack" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

She could be the hero/former cop, but I'm not 100% sure.

- Jim

[chasfm11]

Oh, yeah, can someone with a Facebook account check this out?
https://www.facebook.com/tomasita.j.mack" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

She could be the hero/former cop, but I'm not 100% sure.

- Jim

You cannot see anything on her Facebook page except a picture without sending her a friend request and having it accepted.

[smoothoperator]

This is good fodder for the "what would you do?" speculation. You see four women apparently having a melee in the grocery store parking lot ...

Assuming I don't know any of them, I would call 911. In a fight between four strangers, I don't know beyond a reasonable doubt who are the innocent parties, if any, and I have no duty to risk my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor.

[WildBill]

That five corners area is like the heart of League City, isn't it? (I avoid getting close to 518 because of the lousy traffic.)

I guess you could say that. That is where the Taco Bell and Kroeger is located. It's probably pretty close to the geographic center of League City. I never heard anyone call it five corners, but that is a good description - it is where Egret Bay, FM 2094, FM 270, Main St, and 518 [Deke Slayton Blvd] converge. I drove though there last night about 6:45PM and it was quite a traffic jam.

[ffemt300]

This is good fodder for the "what would you do?" speculation. You see four women apparently having a melee in the grocery store parking lot ...

Assuming I don't know any of them, I would call 911. In a fight between four strangers, I don't know beyond a reasonable doubt who are the innocent parties, if any, and I have no duty to risk my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor.

Agree. Get on the phone with 911. Be a good witness. No way Im bringing a gun into a female scrapfest.

[tomtexan]

Agree. Get on the phone with 911. Be a good witness. No way Im bringing a gun into a female scrapfest.

Dial 911. Waving a gun around in the midst of all that might end up with them pointing the finger at you.

[seamusTX]

This situation is a "perfect storm" of someone coming on the scene not being able to distinguish the actors. It's not as if the criminal actor had tats or was wearing colors.

One clue occurred to me: The person screaming, "Call the police," probably is not the bad actor.

Looking at the situation objectively, you might notice that the former cop had an air of command that the others did not. However, that is not so easy to spot in the midst of a melee.

- Jim

[WildBill]

This situation is a "perfect storm" of someone coming on the scene not being able to distinguish the actors. It's not as if the criminal actor had tats or was wearing colors.

Looking at the situation objectively, you might notice that the former cop had an air of command that the others did not. However, that is not so easy to spot in the midst of a melee. - Jim

I heard an interview with Ms. Mack and she believes that it was "divine intervention". She was driving home and not planning to stop, but for some unknown reason she turned into the Kroeger parking lot.

[seamusTX]

Whether divinely inspired or otherwise, it worked out well. Everyone went home or to jail as appropriate.

- Jim

[WildBill]

Whether divinely inspired or otherwise, it worked out well. Everyone went home or to jail as appropriate.

- Jim

After all that happened, I wonder if she ever went into the store to buy her milk and butter.