Three persons wearing ski masks and armed with knives robbed a jewelry salesperson in North Texas on May 7, the Jewelers’ Security Alliance reports.

The persons blocked in the salesperson’s car near a building on LBJ Freeway, JSA said in its “Crime Alert,” e-newsletter Thursday. The salesperson ran and the suspects chased him and took his diamond merchandise. The suspects slashed the tires of his car before fleeing.

There have also been at least three recent hits on salespersons in Houston. On May 1, a salesperson was attacked outside a retail store by three or four Hispanic suspects who pulled up in a white SUV. On April 29, a salesperson was pepper-sprayed as he entered his car after leaving a restaurant in Houston. And on April 28, three suspects robbed a salesperson in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express in south Montgomery County, Texas. The suspects were reported to be wearing black clothing, had their faces covered, and fled in a late model black Honda Accord.

JSA issued the following recommendations:

1. Salespersons must use evasive driving techniques before and after every sales call and before returning to their hotel. Salespersons should also be frequently looking in their rear view mirror and driving around and surveying the nearby area before exiting their vehicle. Evasive driving techniques including driving very slowly, for example, at 10 miles per hour in the right lane, to see if anyone is following. Evasive driving also includes driving around the block in a residential, low-traffic area to see if anyone is following; making abrupt u-turns and left turns; and pulling into and out of shopping centers, banks or convenience stores to see if other cars follow.

2. Be advised that the South American gangs will use multiple cars to follow a salesperson, and those cars will sometimes have the license plate removed or covered over.

3. When a salesperson calls on a retail jewelry store, he should try to have his car parked as closely as possible to the store, facing out for fast exit, and he should not sit in a parked car for any period of time before or after the call.

4. If possible, salespersons should try to have the retailer keep an eye on them as they leave the store and drive away, watching to see if they are being followed.

JCK