Consumer

DPD Takes Down "Elaborate" Ring Of Thieves

Jay Gormley contributed to this story.

DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ― Cindy Harris has yet to replace the window after thieves smashed it and stole her purse.

"There was glass on the ground. It was shattered. There was a hole in the window, so they were able to reach in," said Harris.

It happened while she was working the overnight shift at Race Track on Mockingbird near Harry Hines.

"Everything I own was in there," she said. "I felt like I didn't have an identity no more."

The thieves immediately started charging up Harris' credit cards.

Lindsey Harrison was hit outside of Starbucks on Lemmon in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas.

Her window was smashed, and her purse and cell phone were stolen. "I came in and I said, 'Did anybody see anything?'" she said.

When a friend called Harrison's cell phone, the female thief added insult to injury.

"This young girl said, 'I stole your friend's purse,' and then she started laughing. It was bizarre," said Harrison.

Harris and Harrison are just two of at least 15 victims who had their cars broken into in the last month. Dallas police say it was all part of an elaborate identity theft ring.

Officers took down that ring when they raided the Embassy Suites on Stemmons near Motor Wednesday. Fifteen people were arrested.

For weeks, women have been targeted at local gas stations, super markets and strip malls, say police.

The thieves looked for women who may be distracted, and then stole their purses.

The thieves used credit card and bank account information to steal their identities.

Police say this bust may be tied to a similar ring they partially took down a week ago.

Along with the 15 victims in Dallas, police say the ring may be responsible for other thefts in Irving and Arlington as well.

In addition to burglary of a motor vehicle and credit card charges, some of the people arrested Wednesday were held for drug possession or outstanding warrants.

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