Louisiana Woman Warns Women after Terrifying Carjacking

A Lafayette, Louisiana woman says she hopes that other women can learn from her terrifying experience after being carjacked at gunpoint. She says, "This rocked me to my core".

How many times have you stopped at the store at night to pick up milk and bread? You just don't think something bad is going to happen. People in big cities like New Orleans get carjacked, right?

I have known this woman for many years so when I found out what had happened to her I couldn't believe it at first. Can you imagine what she must have gone through, right in the heart of Lafayette?

She has decided to talk about what happened that night so that other women can be reminded to stay alert. The objective of this story is not to be alarming but to help us all remember you can't let your guard down, even in your own driveway. Similar scary situations have occurred in Lafayette recently, including a robbery at a Facebook Marketplace transaction in Lafayette

We have all seen postings on social media warning women about various issues, and that's the whole goal of the lady wanting to share her story now.

The situation happened like this. On Monday, April 15 my friend was coming home from meetings, and doing a favor for another friend when she stopped at a convenience store near her home to pick up milk and bread. She got her items and left. On her way home, she decided to cut through a parking lot to get to her subdivision.

That's when on one of the corners of that shopping center she noticed a man on a bike, and he wasn't moving. He was just sitting there on the bike. When he looked at her she admits she got that feeling like something was off. She calls it her "spidey senses". You just get that feeling in the pit of your stomach that something isn't right. But, she says she let her guard down.

She kept going, turned on her street, and backed into her driveway. She decided to stay in the car while one of her favorite songs played. When you pull into your driveway, I think most of us would let our guard down because we are finally home.

She says,

I knew better. I thought I was safe in my driveway.

As the woman turned her body to the left to exit the vehicle, THERE HE WAS, it was the man she had seen at the corner. He was pointing a gun at her, he yelled at her,

"Bitch get out!"

She says she was then pulled by her left arm and thrown onto the concrete and grassy area between her driveway and her neighbor's house. He yelled at her for the keys, which she says she dropped along with her phone when she got pulled out of the car. She didn't look up, just told him they were on the ground.

She says she didn't have her gun so she prayed. The following is an excerpt she shared with a Facebook friend to help warn other women:

In hindsight, if I had had my gun on me, I could’ve taken action at that point but… I couldn’t, so I prayed.

He was screaming at me and I managed to say, “I’ll do anything just please don’t kill me“. My grandchildren will cry. My mind drifted to my family, my grandchildren, my sons, and my daughter (after someone would have) given them the news that I’d been murdered. Lord God, heal them if it happens. My life flashed through my eyes, seconds were like hours of past regrets wishing I had time to make things right with others before being taken out.

She says she continued to think about her family. Her head is still down at this point, and she's just wondering if she would hear the shot "before it took me out". She then hears him taking off in her car, but he stops.

Was he coming back to kill her, she wondered?

She heard the car take off again. The suspect had apparently stopped to put his bike in the car, which was seen by a neighbor. She heard it drive far enough away that she knew she could finally get up and run for help.

She says she ran into her backyard falling twice because "my legs were Jell-O". She then was able to alert someone that her car had been stolen.

Look, when something bad happens, we immediately blame ourselves,

Why didn't I listen to my instincts?

Why did I let my guard down?

Why did I stay in my car to listen to a song?

Why didn't I have my weapon?

You can't play the "what if" game. You can only move forward and this woman has advice for all women:

She wants women to intentionally pay attention to their surroundings.

She wants women to be diligent wherever they might, out, at home, or even at any place where she might feel comfortable. Minimize distractions.

She wants you to know that criminals are brazen, and they want what you have. She wonders if this is because of a lack of jail space.

She adds she believes criminals are looking for a crime of opportunity so don't give them a chance to make you a victim.

The lady wants everyone to know how diligently the investigators with the Lafayette Police Department worked on this case.

A suspect was arrested on a charge of armed robbery and a charge of identity theft.

The suspect, if convicted of armed robbery, can face serious time according to the Louisiana Legislature's website:

Whoever commits the crime of armed robbery shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than ten years and for not more than ninety-nine years, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

The suspect, if convicted of identity theft, can face the following punishment according to the Louisiana Legislature's website:

Whoever commits the crime of identity theft when credit, money, goods, services, or any thing else of value is obtained, possessed, or transferred, which amounts to a value of one thousand dollars or more, shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than ten years, or may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both.

One of the biggest things she wanted to make sure that she imparts upon women is that, at the end of the day, most people in Acadiana are decent, hardworking people, but you still have to keep your guard up for the very, very small percentage of people who want to make someone their victim.

Be safe out there, everyone!