JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police say crooks are targeting holiday shoppers all across Northeast Florida.
Dozens of robberies, carjackings and package thefts have been reported recently around the Jacksonville area, including at the St. Johns Town Center, River City Marketplace and Avenues Mall.
A man accused of carjacking a woman at the Avenues Mall, biting the woman to gain access to her SUV and attacking another woman in a parking lot seven miles away was ordered held without bond Thursday at his first appearance.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Joseph Ryals, 26, of Screven, Georgia, is charged with carjacking, strong-arm robbery and burglary.
In another incident, a 73-year-old woman buying Christmas candy at a Collins Road Walmart said someone stole her purse right out of her cart.
“This is Christmas time, when we are all supposed to be nice to each other,” Betty Ann Tomlinson said.
Tomlinson said the car was right behind her, so whoever took her purse did it very quickly.
She said the next day store security called her to say they had found her purse, with her prescription glasses, credit cards and ID inside. But all her cash -- about $30 -- was gone, and so was the person who took it.
“If somebody asked me for money, I would have given it to them,” Tomlinson said.
Crimes of opportunity, like purse snatchings, tend to spike around the holidays, police say.
“This is the silly season, if you will, and people do crazy things in this world,” JSO spokesman Officer Christian Hancock said. “They are a little bit more brazen at this time, but we can all do little things to curtail becoming a victim.”
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said desperate people trying to get money for the holidays can cause crimes to increase around this time of year.
Experts say shopping with a buddy, locking doors, hiding valuables and avoiding suspicious people can help shoppers avoid becoming a target.
“You just never know what people are going to do,” Smith said.
Smith said with armed robberies and carjackings, every situation is different, but it’s usually best to comply and give the criminals whatever they ask for. Only fight back if your life depends on it, he said.