Crime spree suspect crashes stolen car in Arlington
ARLINGTON, Texas - A one-man crime wave put three innocent people in the hospital and left a trail of several different crime scenes in Arlington and Mansfield.
Police say the suspect, Dylan Perry, held up a store, two banks and a car dealership. Then police say he led them on a chase and there was a shootout before it ended in a crash.
The crime spree started at a convenience store in Mansfield at 9:20 a.m. on Friday and ended up in Arlington after crashing into a pickup truck with three people inside.
“This gentleman walks in, points to the car at the far side of the parking lot and says, ‘Who's Suburban is that?” said Salim Metalwala, the owner of a Valero in Mansfield. “[He said] ‘I'm going to need a pack of Newports and the keys to the Suburban.’”
Employees thought the man was kidding until the suspect pulled a handgun from his belt.
“He takes a gun out and points it down,” said Metalwala. “At that point, I'm like, ‘He's not joking.’ I gave him the Newports. I told my employee, ‘Take the keys and give it to him.’”
Metalwala says the man walked out slowly, assuring the clerk that she would get her SUV back.
“My main concern was to get him out of the store as fast as possible,” said Metalwala. “If he asked for money, I would give it to him, but I could never replace a life.”
Perry then got into her vehicle and adjusted the seat and mirror before driving away, toward a Wells Fargo.
There, witnesses to the next robbery described a more aggressive demeanor.
“Several people laid on the floor and he said "Why are you guys on the floor like a bunch of animals? I didn't tell you to get on the floor. Get up. Have some respect for yourselves. Stand tall,’” said bank customer and witness Marcia Lindsey. “He said that he was part of the black revolution and that the prophecies sent him and he is to be known to us as the new black Jesus.”
Police say Perry, 38, then went on to rob a Bank of America in Arlington, and then stole a BMW from a dealership on East Lamar.
It was the last robbery before officers caught up to him and gave chase.
Perry stopped only to shoot at police from behind his driver’s side door.
Officers returned fire and believe at they hit the suspect just before the chase ended in a violent crash on West Division near Bowen in Arlington.
The suspects’ stolen BMW hit a red pickup, sending three people to the hospital.
"We wish this crash would not have occurred,” said Lt. Chris Cook with the Arlington Police Department. “We don't want anybody, any innocent citizens or officers hurt, but at this point, we could not allow this suspect to carry on with his propensity for violence."
Arlington police shared photos of bullet holes in two patrol cars, but say no officers were hurt.
The four people in the pickup were taken to hospital. They’re still alive and their names have not been released.
The suspect was also injured, and he is described as being in grave condition.
Police aren’t sure if they shot the suspect, he shot himself or if he was just injured badly in the crash.