Police rule out woman’s parking-lot abduction as being a random act

By Calvin Palmer

The abduction of Susana De Jesus from a parking lot in Pearland, Texas, on Monday night may not have been a random crime, police said today.

“She may have known or been aware of what was happening,”  Capt. Chris Kincheloe of Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office told a news conference. He added that she was taken against her will.

Kincheloe did not elaborate on a motive but said: “We are still trying to find a living breathing person. I’m very optimistic we can find her.”

He based his statements on the abduction on background checks of the victim and people associated with her, but would not elaborate because the investigation is continuing.

Asked if authorities had a profile of the suspect, he replied, “He’s mean as hell.”

He said he’s very street-wise and knew what he was doing. The fact that he shielded his face with a mask and the door of the car when he used an ATM showed that knew what he was doing.

Kincheloe said the fact that the kidnapping may not have been random should allay the fears of people in the area. People in the area have been jittery over three home invasions in a nearby subdivision in three weeks.

De Jesus, 37, was abducted as she left her place of employment Catherine’s Plus Sizes store at 2754 Smith Ranch Road.

Witnesses said a masked gunman told De Jesus to get into a car, a 2008 black Cadillac, which was later recovered by the Houston Police Department in the 6000 block of West Airport.

Investigators from several agencies are looking for De Jesus. Kincheloe said the FBI has promised to expedite processing of evidence from the kidnapping, as well as from three recent home invasions in the nearby Silverlake subdivision.

Since the incidents, Sheriff Charles Wagner said he has boosted patrols by pushing all available personnel into the area, including undercover officers in unmarked cars.

Calls to the sheriff’s office reporting suspicious persons and unfamiliar cars have also increased, Wagner said. Some of the suspicious people that callers complained about turned out to be undercover officers in the area, he said.

The increased number of homes in Pearland and population boost have likely drawn criminals’ attention, Wagner said.

Pearland is located 20 miles south of Houston.

[Based on reports by the Houston Chronicle and KHOU.com.]