California police have released surveillance stills of a potential suspect in an attempted robbery which was foiled when the victim faked a seizure in a move she learned from her favorite show Law and Order.
Julie Dragland, 32, of Oakland, was riding a Dublin-bound BART train from Daly City at around 4.50pm on Saturday when a threatening note was dropped in her lap which ordered her to hand over her belongings ‘if you want to live.’
BART officers have now reviewed footage from surveillance cameras aboard the train and say the video shows the suspect sitting behind Dragland, before reaching over her shoulder and dropping the note.
California police have released surveillance stills of a potential suspect (pictured) in an attempted robbery which was foiled when the victim faked a seizure in a move she learned from her favorite show Law and Order
But when Dragland faked a seizure, drawing the attention of nearby passengers, the woman abandoned the robbery and got off at the Powell Street station.
The suspect, believed to be in her 30s, had strawberry blond hair and was wearing sunglasses, ripped jeans, boots and a dark colored t-shirt, and trailing a metal shopping trolley.
Police are still hunting for the suspect and are reviewing more surveillance footage from the train and the station.
Julie Dragland (pictured) was riding a Dublin-bound BART train from Daly City at around 4.50pm on Saturday when a threatening note was dropped in her lap
‘There are 2 guns pointed at you now,’ the frighting note read. ‘If you want to live hand back your wallet + phone NOW + do not turn around and be descreet(sic). Do not turn around until after you have left civic center + you will live’
Dragland, a PR Specialist at SEGA, said she had been terrified after reading the note.
‘There are 2 guns pointed at you now,’ it read. ‘If you want to live hand back your wallet + phone NOW + do not turn around and be descreet(sic). Do not turn around until after you have left civic center + you will live.’
She says she started ‘freaking out’ and desperately tried mouthing the words ‘help me’ at a nearby passenger.
Unfortunately, that man completely failed to notice her pleas for help and got off the train.
It was then she remembered an episode from one of her favorite shows, Law and Order, where a victim escaped a mugging by faking a seizure.
Dragland, a PR Specialist at SEGA, started ‘freaking out’ and desperately tried mouthing the words ‘help me’ at a nearby passenger on the BART train (another BART train is pictured)
She reported the incident to the police who searched the station but could not find anyone matching that description
‘I probably looked very ridiculous,’ she told the San Francisco Chronicle. ‘I slumped sideways and started shaking and crying. I closed my eyes and increased the vigor so people would pay attention.’
‘I think (the idea) had something to do with watching a lot of ‘Law & Order.’ I think I saw that in an episode. I was very impressed with myself.’
As Dragland began shaking and slumped over, a nearby couple came over to ask if she was OK. She then passed them the note.
The 32-year-old believes the mugger got off at the next stop, the Civic Center Station, and suspects it may have been an older woman with a suitcase.
Dragland started ‘freaking out’ but then remembered an episode of her favorite TV show Law and Order where a victim escaped a mugging by faking a seizure
Dragland (left and right) says she is pleased to have avoided having to hand over her belongings but won’t press charges as she wants to put the experience behind her
She reported the incident to the police who searched the station but could not find anyone matching that description.
‘The victim was not sure who handed her the note, and did not see anyone with a weapon,’ police wrote in a report.
However, Dragland says she will not press charges against her mugger as she wants to put the incident behind her.