Parolee attacked woman with rock, robbed her as she left Wichita business, police say
A late Wednesday morning rock attack outside of a east-side Wichita business left an unsuspecting woman with serious injuries, police said.
The unidentified woman had just left a business in the 3000 block of East Douglas and was “going to her car” when police say 64-year-old Veryl Dean Crawford of Wichita approached her around 11:20 a.m. The address is near the Douglas and Hillside intersection.
Crawford “pushed her and struck her multiple times with a rock causing serious injuries” before taking off with her cell phone and wallet, Officer Charley Davidson said in an emailed news release. The woman is 55.
Witnesses to the attack gave police enough information to lead officers to Crawford, the release said. Police found him a few blocks north, trying to “hide evidence” in the 3200 block of East Chatfield and arrested him on the spot, according to the release.
Crawford was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail at 3:43 p.m. Wednesday, an online log of jail inmates shows. He is being held on suspicion of aggravated robbery, aggravated battery, interference with law enforcement and possession of drug paraphernalia, the release says. He was also arrested on a Kansas Department of Corrections warrant, records show.
Crawford has several prior felony convictions and is currently on parole, the police news release says. His criminal history includes multiple robbery counts, burglaries and batteries from 1988 and 1990, as well as a 1998 rape, according to the KDOC. He was paroled from prison this spring.
